Chiefs to feds: Renew ESEA soon or help us innovate
Blog by Alyson Klein/Education Week
If Congress doesn't move on reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act this year, states are poised to get going on their own ideas on accountability and other areas. And they want Congress (and the administration) to have their backs, according to a letter sent to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, education lawmakers, and party leaders on Capitol Hill by the Council of Chief State School Officers. The letter makes it clear that CCSSO's first choice is an honest-to-goodness reauthorization, this year, that builds on state-level work on K-12 redesign. But if that doesn't happen, CCSSO has a ready-made Plan B for the feds: Congress and the administration should support state leaders in their efforts to make changes that will help the current ESEA law work better for their states. (more...)