Arne Duncan to announce plans to repeal No Child Left Behind
Obama's Secretary of Education will unveil a new federal education law at a speech Monday at a Washington elementary school.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Friday, January 9, 2015, 12:00 PM
Updated: Friday, January 9, 2015, 6:12 PM
- A
- A
- A
WIN MCNAMEE/REUTERSGeorge W. Bush signed the bipartisan education measure into law in 2002.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan will reportedly announce plans to repeal the standing federal education law, No Child Left Behind, in a speech Monday at a Washington elementary school.
The federal measure, officially known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), was signed into law by George W. Bush 13 years ago this week but the measure has been criticized by teachers and parents for excessive testing requirements and harsh evaluation of school performance.
It expired in 2007 but has not yet been updated.
Duncan labeled the law “outmoded and broken” and called for a replacement that “gives systems and educators greater freedom while continuing to fulfill the law’s original promise” in a 2013 Washington Post opinion piece.
Republicans have likewise called for a rewrite of the 13-year-old education law, which received bipartisan support in Congress when it passed in 2002.
MARCUS SANTOS /NEW YORK DAILY NEWSU.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has called the Bush education law ‘broken.’
Duncan’s plan will likely include President Obama’s push for universal pre-K, and could include possible reductions in some testing levels, but he is expected to maintain requirements for annual testing for third- to eighth-graders, Politico reports.
One former Obama administration official expressed surprise at the news that Duncan will discuss the need to repeal No Child Left Behind in his remarks Monday, instead of just promote the plans as a revamp and updated version of the 2002 law.
“It might not be the best choice of words politically, but from a policy standpoint, it’s absolutely correct,” the official told Politico.
Obama’s Education chief will unveil the proposal next Monday morning during a visit to Seaton Elementary School in Washington.
