After receding into the political background for months, Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization came alive with new energy last week as the House and Senate bills to rewrite and replace No Child Left Behind (NCLB) were taken to a conference committee in the form of a framework approved by conferees almost unanimously, with U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) the lone holdout.

The framework addresses the controversial testing and accountability provisions of NCLB, which led to the United States Department of Education’s waiver system. Under the framework, the states will have to identify and intervene in schools in three specific circumstances: schools falling into the bottom 5% of academic performance, schools experiencing high dropout rates, and schools where an identifiable group of students is underperforming consistently.

The framework bars the federal government from mandating standards like the Common Core State Standards, moves English learner programs into Title I, and sets a 1% cap on the number of students with disabilities who can take alternative assessments.

Translating the framework into the actual text of a final bill comes next. The conference chair, U.S. Rep. John Kline (R-MN) indicated the draft will be available Nov. 30, and that the House expects to take up the bill two days or so later. Speaking for the Senate conferees, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) promised that the Senate would have at least a week to review the bill before it goes to the floor, possibly on Dec. 7.

Literacy education support

There was no indication in the conference deliberations that comprehensive literacy education support as provided for in the Literacy Education for All, Results for the Nation Act provisions of the Senate bill was a point of controversy.

With what can only be described as fortuitous timing, the Advocates for Literacy Coalition, including the International Literacy Association (ILA), held a previously scheduled briefing for congressional staffers and others Nov. 17, the day before the conference commenced. Presentations were given by school and district administrators from Pennsylvania and Montana recounting significant gains in student literacy achievement that would not have been possible but for federal dollars.

As the conference opened, Diane Barone, ILA Board President, and Bill Teale, ILA Board Vice President, sent a letter on behalf of the board to each of the conferees urging them to include comprehensive literacy education support in the final bill. As they emphasized, “Literacy is indispensable for academic success in all areas of schooling and at all ages.”

Amendments voted up and down

The conferees approved amendments that allow some funding for dual enrollment for K–12 students taking college coursework, addressing the high school dropout problem, and training teachers on how to protect student privacy. Other approved amendments allow states to set targets for the amount of time students spend on standardized tests and help states integrate arts and music into science, technology engineering, and math education.

The conferees also approved amendments calling for a study of early childhood education programs and directing the Institute of Education Sciences to study the Title I funding formula, in each case reporting back to Congress.

Voted down were amendments that would have frozen funding levels outlined in the bill and a measure that would have created a clearinghouse for research on teacher evaluation.

Lingering controversy

Although the bipartisan bill appears to be headed for enactment by the end of the year, concerns still linger over the larger issue of accountability. The White House has expressed concern that the compromise bill does not do enough for minority and economically deprived children, although there is no talk of a veto at the moment. Civil rights advocates have expressed reservations that the compromise bill takes too much authority away from the U.S. Secretary of Education.

All eyes will be on the text of the final draft, to be released next week. It appears, after years of effort, that the road to ESEA reauthorization might soon reach its final goal.

Dan Mangan is the Director of Public Affairs for ILA.