Joint Hearing on NCLB

The House Education and Labor Committee held a joint hearing with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Although HELP Committee Chairman Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and a few other senators attended, the hearing seemed more of a House event with a few guests from the other side of the Capitol. Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY), the ranking member on the HELP Committee, was not even present at the hearing, though he did submit written statements for the record. Notably absent were Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and Christopher Dodd (D-CT), two presidential hopefuls on the HELP Committee. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), another committee member with presidential aspirations, attended the hearing, but remained uncharacteristically silent and did not stay for the entire hearing.




The panelists at the hearing included:

· Gov. Roy Barnes, Aspen Institute Commission on No Child Left Behind;

· Elizabeth Burmaster, Council of Chief State School Officers;

· Mike Casserly, Council of Great City Schools;

· Wade Henderson, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights;

· Ed McElroy, American Federation of Teachers;

· Arthur J. Rothkopf, Business Coalition for Student Achievement; and

· Reg Weaver, National Education Association.

The hearing was primarily a forum for members of Congress, as well as the panelists, to demonstrate their support for the law and to highlight their own recommendations and suggested improvements for reauthorization. That regulars in the education community, such as Weaver and Casserly, were chosen as panelists suggests that members were only interested in hearing well known positions.

One factor that set this hearing apart from others, aside from the fact that it was seemingly bicameral, is that no other hearing has covered as many aspects of the federal education law. The topics discussed included highly qualified and effective teachers, greater flexibility in meeting adequate yearly progress, the use of growth models, better incorporation of longitudinal data, making provision for physical education and possible expansion of NCLB into high school. However, the broad range of discussion meant that more-specific proposals were not discussed, with members of the committee limited to a short amount of time to question the panelists.

Although this hearing can accurately be considered the first major step towards reauthorization, the fact is that no new proposals were discussed, no specific legislation was mentioned, and no timeline was set for completion of the reauthorization process. Members and panelists used the time to posture and give useable sound bytes for their positions and recommendations. The enthusiasm for the bicameral hearing quickly dissipated, leaving anyone who expected this to help ensure a 2007 reauthorization with a distinct feeling of disappointment. 2009 remains the most likely date for final reauthorization.

Resource:
House Committee on Education and Labor, http://edworkforce.house.gov/
Author: SAS