WASHINGTON — A Senate committee began debating legislation Tuesday that attempts to fix the much-maligned No Child Left Behind education law by giving states more control in determining how to hold public schools accountable for student performance.
The early focus among lawmakers was aimed at giving states opportunities to reduce the amount of time students are focused on testing and preparing for tests.
Leaders of the committee have worked behind closed doors for months to reach a bipartisan consensus on how to revamp a Bush-era law that has been a candidate for reauthorization since 2007. Now the hard work begins with lawmakers from all political leanings getting an opportunity to shape the bill through amendments.
The White House has cheered the Senate efforts. Meanwhile, efforts to pass legislation in the House managed to alienate conservatives as well as Democratic lawmakers, but for different reasons.
“If fixing No Child Left Behind were a standardized test, Congress would have earned a failing grade for each of the last seven years,” said Lamar Alexander, the Republican chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, prompting laughs from some in the audience.