Sen. Kennedy and "No Child" Reauthorization

[Bob Schaeffer <bobschaeffer@earthlink.net>]

KENNEDY LENDS HEFT TO NCLB
The Politico -- February 13, 2008
by Daniel W. Reilly

Slowed by age and chronic back pain, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) 
may not stand as tall as he once did, but with his reputation as a fiery 
liberal with a penchant for deal-making firmly intact, his stature in 
the Senate has not diminished.

As chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions 
Committee, Kennedy will need every inch of that stature as he fights for 
a reauthorization of the controversial No Child Left Behind law. Getting 
the measure approved will require a delicate balancing act that pits the 
unlikely duo of Kennedy and President Bush against a diverse collection 
of opponents from both parties who seek to derail the measure.

“No Child Left Behind has become a banner for what’s wrong with our 
education system,” Kennedy admitted in a recent interview. “But what we 
have to try and do now is see how we can take the benefits of six years 
of this legislation — even with all of its faults — and see if we can’t 
find the common ground that will strengthen and improve our children’s 
education.”

Touted by some on the right as Bush’s signature domestic achievement, No 
Child Left Behind focuses on “accountability,” with an emphasis on 
standardized testing and strict penalties for schools that do not meet 
certain standards.

Enacted with great fanfare in January 2002, the law has become a piñata 
for education activists of all stripes, with teachers unions saying it 
narrows the curriculum and forces them to teach to tests, school voucher 
advocates saying it does not offer enough choice, and minority advocacy 
groups saying it does not do enough to address the root causes of 
underachieving schools.

Kennedy blames many of the shortcomings of the current law on inadequate 
funding, setting up a separate fight with fiscal conservatives loath to 
give the Department of Education more money.

Reauthorization would have been difficult under any circumstances, but 
the present timing makes the challenge even tougher. The presidential 
race has shortened the legislative calendar and also turned up the heat 
on NCLB, with both Democratic candidates criticizing it on the campaign 
trail.

At a recent campaign rally for his wife, presidential candidate Hillary 
Rodham Clinton — who voted for NCLB in 2001 — former President Bill 
Clinton said implementation of the act has been a “train wreck” that has 
created the “worst of all worlds” for public schools.

While some chalked up the comments to sour grapes after Kennedy endorsed 
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), Clinton’s remarks are indicative of the 
passions the legislation stirs on both sides of the political spectrum.

Tom Loveless, an education policy expert at the Brookings Institution, 
says chances are “very slim” that NCLB will get out of committee this 
year. Still, Loveless says if there is anyone in the Senate capable of 
finding the middle ground necessary to pass NCLB, it is Kennedy — and 
that even if he fails this year, Kennedy will be well-positioned to get 
NCLB passed in 2009.

“No matter what happens in November, Kennedy is going to have a 
colleague in the White House,” said Loveless, who predicts the next 
president will enlist Kennedy’s help in guiding the bill, regardless of 
who wins.

Kennedy also has an ally in Wyoming Sen. Michael B. Enzi, the top 
Republican on the Health and Education Committee, with whom Kennedy has 
a close working relationship.

Despite their shared commitment to NCLB, Kennedy has frequently tangled 
with Bush, especially this past fall, when Bush vetoed a measure to 
expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program — another of 
Kennedy’s signature issues. Kennedy said there has been an “absolute 
catastrophic failure of leadership” on a wide array of issues, from the 
Iraq war to the response to Hurricane Katrina.

Outside of NCLB, Kennedy has an impressive list of recent education 
accomplishments, including the passage of bills to expand the Head Start 
early education program and important student loan legislation.

In the months ahead, Kennedy said he hopes to work with committee 
members to try to devise some way for small-business owners to pool 
their health insurance to combat rising costs. He also wants to restore 
funding for low-income home-heating assistance programs, which was cut 
at the last minute from the recent economic stimulus package.

“I want to achieve and accomplish legislatively programs like [NCLB] 
that can make a difference in people’s lives,” he said.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8499.html