A rewrite of the No Child Left Behind act has been approved by the U.S. Senate and is now headed to President Barack Obama for signing.
U.S. senators overwhelmingly approved the legislation to replace the expired No Child Left Behind act by an overwhelming 85-12 vote. All 12 votes against the proposal came from Republicans.
Florida’s Republican senator and presidential hopeful Marco Rubio was absent for the vote, as was fellow Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., praised the newly passed legislation, calling it a “bipartisan achievement” for the country.
“Finding a serious replacement for No Child Left Behind eluded Washington for years,” he said. "The new Congress and the new Senate have had a habit this year of turning third rails into bipartisan achievements."
The rewrite, called the Every Student Succeeds Act, aims to take power from the hands of the federal government and put it back in the hands of state and local governments when it comes to education.
One way the law attempts to do so is by allowing each state to set their own educational goals -- under No Child Left Behind, those goals were dictated by the federal government. This aspect of the law is a direct jab at the Common Core State Standards, which the federal government pushed on states through financial incentives in 2010 and have since become the topic of intense criticism from parents, students, teachers, educational groups and even some politicians across the country.
Schools will still be responsible for how their students perform, but it will now be up to individual states to determine how to enforce penalties for student performance.
Standardized testing would still be mandatory under the ESSA, with all students in grades three through eight required to take reading and mathematics assessments each year.
At least 95 percent of students are required to take standardized tests under the new law.
The proposal flew through the U.S. House of Representatives last week, passing by a 359-64 vote.
The ESSA has gathered support -- and harsh criticisms -- from education groups across the country.
“The ESSA strikes a balance between accountability for closing achievement gaps and educating all students with flexibility to allow state and local actors to meet local student needs,” said executive vice president for policy at the Center for American Progress Carmel Martin.
“No bill is perfect, but this is so much better than what educators have had to live under for the last 14 years,” said National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen García.
Others were less satisfied, expressing discontent with the legislation for still allowing too much federal oversight over national education.
As with No Child Left Behind, the wise minority that vote against this bill will turn out to be prescient and our children and teachers sold out to Big government, Big Corporations, and Big Data will suffer even more than under No Child Left Behind,” said Florida Stop Common Core Coalition.
“12 Senators voted Nay to ESEA reauthorization. THANK YOU,” tweeted anti-Common Core parent group Florida Parents Against Common Core. “For the others, shame on you for trafficking our children.”
The White House said President Obama will sign the proposal into law Thursday.
