House NCLB Hearing Schedule

The reauthorization momentum gains speed. In early February, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions (HELP), began a series of roundtable hearings on the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) by addressing school improvement strategies. The next hearing on the topic of teacher quality is scheduled for March 6.



The House Committee on Education and Labor is now also laying out its reauthorization plans. The Committee’s tentative schedule includes:

• March 13: House and Senate bicameral committee hearing titled "Elementary and Secondary Education Act Reauthorization: Improving NCLB to Close the Achievement Gap on Accountability.” The scheduled witnesses include:
• March 21: Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP);
• March 23: English Language Learners (ELL);
• March 29: Special Education;
• April (date not set): Teacher Quality.

According to the House Committee staff, the House is planning an aggressive hearing schedule because George Miller, the Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, wants to get a reauthorization bill through the House this year.
The aggressive House schedule has led to more intense advocacy activity because the hearings will require clear policy statements and expert opinion on short notice. Time is of the essence.

This, however, does not signify that reauthorization will be completed by the close of the year. The consensus projected date for reauthorization remains 2009, after the 2008 elections. But do not be lulled into inactivity by that date. It is critical to distinguish between the date of completion and the process of drafting the reauthorization bill. The decisive yeoman’s work is now well underway