AFT Applauds Senate Overhaul of NCLB

AFT’s Weingarten: “America’s students, educators and parents are counting on Congress to use the Senate bill as the basis for a law that President Obama will sign. If that is accomplished, the message is that Washington is serious about wanting to help our kids succeed.”

WASHINGTON—American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten on the Senate approval of the Every Child Achieves Act:

“The Every Child Achieves Act, which passed the Senate today, represents a fundamental and positive change of direction for public education. It sends a powerful message that equity really matters and that schooling must be more about teaching and learning than testing and measuring. More must be done to address the needs of historically disadvantaged children, but this bill offers a significant piece of the puzzle. The soul of the Senate bill, including the addition of the community schools program today, maintains the commitment to target funds to public schools educating large populations of disadvantaged students and overhauls No Child Left Behind by resetting accountability by eliminating the test-and-punish policies that have narrowed the curriculum but not the achievement gap.

“In this era of division and polarization, the Senate bipartisan bill matters a lot. But we need a law, not just a bill. America’s students, educators and parents are counting on Congress to use the Senate bill as the basis for a law that President Obama will sign. If that is accomplished, the message is that Washington is serious about wanting to help our kids succeed. We commend Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) for putting aside partisanship to collaborate and help produce this bill.”