GOP lawmaker proposes No Child Left Behind reforms

By Pete Kasperowicz - 01/09/12 01:41 PM ET

House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-Minn.) last week proposed legislation to reform the No Child Left Behind law, in part by giving states more flexibility in setting education standards.

“There is a strong sense of urgency that the heavy-handed law must be reformed to ensure more children have access to the quality education they deserve,” Kline said of No Child Left Behind, approved in early 2002 at the urging of then-President G.W. Bush. “I’m pleased to release draft legislation that will change the status quo and put more control into the hands of the teachers, principals, superintendents and parents who know the needs of children best.”

Kline introduced two draft bills to reform No Child Left Behind. The first, called the Student Success Act, would reduce the federal role in measuring student performance, and give those duties to the states. In doing so, the bill would repeal the adequate yearly progress (AYP) method of assessing progress at the federal level, which Kline said is a one-size-fits-all approach that is not effective.

“Across the country, states and school districts have led efforts to reform the nation’s troubled education system,” according to a summary of the bill. “As these bold reformers step up, the federal government can step back, limiting its footprint to ensuring parents have the information they need to judge the quality of their schools.”

The second bill, the Encouraging Innovation and Effective Teachers Act, rewrites the federal teacher-evaluation program and requires that evaluations be more descriptive, and based in large part on student achievement. It also requires that personnel decisions be more connected to these evaluations.

Kline has said No Child Left Behind created more than 80 teacher-quality programs, which this second bill would consolidate. A summary of the bill states that such a high number of programs “impose tremendous paperwork and regulatory burdens on states and school districts and have demonstrated limited success in improving student achievement.”

Kline said the two bills are meant as discussion drafts, and said he would welcome input on how to improve them in the months ahead.

“I look forward to gaining input from my congressional colleagues, state and local leaders and the American public on our ideas for recruiting more talented teachers, boosting accountability for school and student performance and encouraging innovation and creativity in the classroom,” he said.