Senate aides last night circulated a discussion draft of sections of NCLB. The draft addresses issues that aren’t controversial, avoiding topics such accountability and teacher pay. Both Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and Sen. Michael B. Enzi, R-Wyo., the panel’s senior Republican, endorsed the draft.
Melissa Wagoner, a spokeswoman for the HELP Committee, e-mailed this response to my query about the process:
“Chairman Kennedy is pleased that progress has been made, working with committee members, on many issues related to this reauthorization. The draft legislative language released yesterday includes many improvements to current law, but much remains to be done on key issues, including accountability and teacher quality. Chairman Kennedy looks forward to working with committee members on addressing these issues and making further improvements in the coming weeks.”
Sens. Kennedy and Enzi often work closely to identify areas where they agree and focus on those first, leaving the controversial stuff for later. The new draft shows that they are working together and are serious about moving a bill.
Sorry for the lack of links. The HELP Committee distributed the draft to interested parties. (I wasn’t one of them.) The committee did not publish the draft online.
