One blogger’s reaction to this week’s NCLB rules is the latest sign that Democrats are divided over the future of federal education policy.
Robert Blomeyer has begun a campaign against the regulations. On my.barackobama.com, he writes:
This is an obvious continuation of the same old "top down" essentialist education agenda that the Bush administration has pushed over almost eight years. Going any further with these "rule changes," which are nothing more than an "interpretation" of what this Secretary and her politically appointed staff interpret the legislation to mean, is a waste of time and $$ that the education community in this country can't afford.
On his blog at the Democratic Party’s official page, Blomeyer writes the regs “MUST BE STOPPED.” See also Blomeyer’s comment on my Tuesday post.
But the two Democrats who oversee the congressional education committees don’t agree with him. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., seems to like the rules (see the quotes in my story). The statement from Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., includes a few swipes at the Bush administration. But one of them essentially endorses the most important section of the rules: the requirement that states use the same method of calculating graduation rates and hold schools accountable for reaching goals based on those rates. By the way, both Kennedy and Miller were early Obama endorsers.
Where does Obama and his team stand on this one? We’ll find out if he’s elected on Tuesday.
