The following post is from America Forward, a nonpartisan policy initiative of New Profit.
Last week, we saw important developments in Congress to move forward with an update to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), and the week ahead promises more activity and debate on the measure.
A Quick Recap
Last week, both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives considered their respective bills to reauthorize ESEA. In the House, the Student Success Act (H.R. 5) passed by a vote of 218-213. You can view America Forward’s statement on passage of the House bill here. Simultaneously, the Senate made progress on the bipartisan Every Child Achieves Act (S.1177). Amendments were debated and voted on—some passing and some failing—and more amendments were filed by Senators eager to see their issues receive a vote.
The Week Ahead
With more than 150 amendments filed by Senators to-date, the Senate still has quite a bit of work to do to advance its bill. Not all of the amendments filed will receive a vote, and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee leadership will be working though the list methodically in order to wrap up the bill this week. The Senate has other priorities to turn to before leaving Washington for the long August recess, so there will be more pressure each day to finish amendments and move to a final vote for passage of the bill.
America Forward is working with the Senate on several anticipated amendments related to subgroup accountability, competency-based assessments, postsecondary success data transparency, and Pay for Success. Stay tuned to this blog and follow the America Forward team on Twitter to keep up to date with the latest action!
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