Senate Moderates Release NCLB Overhaul Plan

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., visits a 4th grade classroom at the Walker Jones Education Campus, in Washington, where he and other senators outlined their vision for reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

—Andrew Councill for Education Week

Plan mirrors Obama's blueprint on revision, with eye toward flexibility

By Alyson Klein

A group of moderate Democratic senators has released a set of principles for revising the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that largely echoes the Obama administration’s vision for overhauling the law as outlined in the administration blueprint put forth almost a year ago.

Still, the statement of principles outlined March 2 marks the first time in recent years that a group of lawmakers has come together with a vision for revising the current version of the law, the No Child Left Behind Act, which was slated for renewal in 2007.

ESEA renewal “has got to be a top priority” for this Congress, said U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., who worked with Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., the administration’s key Senate ally on K-12 issues, to lead the development of the moderates’ ESEA wish list. Nine of their colleagues signed...