Every Student Succeeds Act

Rep. John Kline Won’t Seek Re-Election; Adds Pressure on ESEA Rewrite

By Lauren Camera — September 08, 2015 4 min read
Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., during a 2014 news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The decision by U.S. Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., chairman of the House education committee, to not seek re-election in 2016 puts added pressure on lawmakers in both chambers to come to an agreement on overhauling the Elementary and Secondary Education Act before the end of the year.

Kline, first elected to the House in 2002, has been the top Republican on the education committee since 2009, where he’s made a rewrite of the No Child Left Behind Act—the latest iteration of ESEA—a priority. Chairman of the committee since 2011, he has ushered ESEA-rewrite bills through the full House twice and is the author of the current Republican-backed bill, which cleared the House on a party-line vote in July.

The House bill and a Senate-passed version are awaiting a conference committee to hammer out differences as Congress returns from its summer recess.

“Whether it’s replacing No Child Left Behind, holding the Obama administration accountable for its harmful policies, or strengthening higher education, there is a lot of work to do over the next 16 months,” he said in a press release. “I remain humbled by the opportunity to lead the committee, and I intend to finish strong and to continue delivering common-sense reforms America’s student, parents, workers, and employers deserve.”

Even if Kline had sought re-election and won, he is term-limited on the education committee, so this already would be his last year spearheading education priorities. Reps. Joe Wilson of South Carolina and Virginia Foxx of North Carolina are the next two most-senior Republican members.

Turning Up the Heat

But his announcement, education advocates were quick to point out, will give Congress even more incentive to get an ESEA rewrite over the finish line.

“We’re sad to see Chairman Kline go,” said Mary Kusler, director of government relations at the 3 million-member National Education Association. “He’s been a pragmatic leader [who’s] been unafraid to talk about the importance of our public education system in this country and the important role that the federal government has in that system. Granted, he would like less of a federal role than currently exists, but overall he has really been a champion.”

“This is a defining moment,” Kusler added. “If he can get a [ESEA] bill to the president’s desk, this will matter a lot.”

Kline has also helped push bills through the chamber on charter schools, workforce training, child-care development, and education research.

In addition, he’s worked to get three higher education bills through the House with bipartisan backing—one that would increase financial-aid counseling, another that would simplify the amount of financial forecasting families receive for estimated college costs, and another that would allow colleges to test competency-based degree programs.

The workforce training and the child-care measures are the only ones that were signed into law by the president.

Administration Critic

Kline has been a vociferous critic of the Obama administration’s education agenda, particularly its waivers from provisions of the NCLB law, which he’s argued are on shaky legal ground, educationally problematic, and a troubling source of policy uncertainty for state leaders.

In an interview with Education Week after the election in November, he said: “I’ve been trying and trying to get No Child Left Behind replaced ... I’m looking at every way to get it done. It’s the most important [education priority] because states are struggling with the temporary-waiver system set up by the administration. We need to change the law.”

Kline is a member of the Republican Study Committee, a group of the most conservative House members, but he’s more moderate when it comes to education policy. In rewriting ESEA, for example, he’s been less inclined to support voucher programs and instead interested in passing a bill that would replicate high-quality charter schools.

“Kline is a legislator who came up at time when moderate was a good thing and not a poison pill,” said Noelle Ellerson, associate executive director of policy and advocacy at AASA, the School Superintendents Association. “He was able to hold true to that even when it became an increasingly difficult task. He had end goals and there were things that were nonnegotiable. But there were also things he was willing to trade on. That’s really what you want, what policy needs, what education needs, and what we’re going to miss.”

The Minnesota Republican has been a big proponent of fully funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and has continually slammed the Obama administration over its annual budget proposals for the program for students with special needs.

Despite being targeted by liberal HBO personality Bill Maher’s “flip a district” effort during the last election, Kline easily recaptured his seat, as he’s done ever since his first election.

Kline, a 25-year Marine Corps veteran, also had a storied military career that included piloting helicopters in Vietnam, commanding aviation forces in Somalia, and flying the presidential helicopter, Marine One. He also carried the briefcase containing the country’s nuclear attack codes for both former President Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.

A version of this article appeared in the September 09, 2015 edition of Education Week as Rep. John Kline, House Ed. Panel Chairman, Set to Retire

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Every Student Succeeds Act Opinion 20 Years Ago, NCLB Kinda, Sorta Worked. That's the Problem
NCLB's political success gave rise to a more complicated reality of lax academic standards and public cynicism.
3 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Every Student Succeeds Act Biden Education Department Approves One Request to Cancel State Tests But Rejects Others
Officials will allow D.C. to cancel tests. They denied similar requests from two other states and approved less extensive waiver requests.
6 min read
Image of students taking a test.
smolaw11/iStock/Getty
Every Student Succeeds Act Republicans Tell Miguel Cardona His Plan for ESSA Waivers Seems to Violate the Law
The Every Student Succeeds Act doesn't permit the education secretary to seek certain data he's asking for, the two GOP lawmakers say.
4 min read
White House press secretary Jen Psaki, left, listens as Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, center, speaks during a press briefing at the White House on March 17, 2021.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki, left, listens as Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, center, speaks during a press briefing at the White House on March 17, 2021.
Andrew Harnik/AP
Every Student Succeeds Act How Will ESSA Hold Up During COVID-19? Pandemic Tests the Law's Resilience
Lawmakers designed ESSA to limit mandates covering issues like how tests are used. Will that affect how well the law survives the pandemic?
6 min read