Last week, Alexander Russo took me to task for my blog item about a piece of performance art built around NCLB. It’s something he wrote about last year, he noted. But I thought it was news (and I still do) that the show has moved from New York to Washington—a town where a substantial number of my readers live.
Now, Russo gives me the chance to raise questions about one of his posts. He asks whether he has the exclusive news that the leaders of Senate education committee have circulated draft NCLB language. Well, it’s not an exclusive. And it’s not news. The documents first went out in October, and I wrote about it then. Nothing new has been distributed since, I’ve been told by the committee’s spokeswoman.
While Russo may have pointed to old news as a sign of current developments, the gist of his entry is correct. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., appears to be serious about moving an NCLB bill this year. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., told me so on Monday night. And I hear that Sen. Kennedy is telling people he believes that he can write a bill that the National Education Association would support and that President Bush would sign.
Russo and many people I talk to are expressing skepticism. But many of my sources add that the chairman of the Senate education committee is one of Capitol Hill’s best legislators. Perhaps he’ll be able to get something done.
