GOP Senators Introduce Own ESEA Renewal Bills

Washington

A group of key U.S. Senate Republicans—led by Sen. Lamar Alexander, of Tennessee, a former U.S. secretary of education—are going their own way on reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act.

Back in January, the top lawmakers on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee pledged to work together on a bipartisan, comprehensive bill to fix the NCLB law, the current version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. But almost eight months later, those talks haven’t resulted in a bill.

Sens. Alexander, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Johnny Isakson of Georgia, and Mark Kirk of Illinois, unveiled a series of four proposals aimed at renewing...