Harkin Proposal Shows Significant Growth From 2011, But Still Falls Short on Giving All Students the Opportunity to Attain College and Career Readiness
June 4, 2013
Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, introduced a bill to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), titled the “Strengthening America’s Schools Act of 2013” (SASA).
The bill includes many important pieces in ensuring a high quality education for all students, as it pushes states and schools to set ambitious goals for raising student achievement and closing achievement gaps among subgroups of students. SASA also works toward closing vital resource gaps between schools that serve disadvantaged communities and those that do not, and provides a solid framework for expanding access to high quality public charter schools. The bill, however, contains many serious flaws, and ultimately falls short on its promise to truly deliver a college- and career-ready education to every student.
“While the Strengthening America’s Schools Act represents a substantial improvement over prior ESEA reauthorization attempts by the Senate, it still has a lot of room for improvement,” said Charles Barone, Policy Director for Democrats for Education Reform. “The bill makes progress in moving towards growth models for accountability and establishing teacher and principal evaluation systems, yet leaves many loopholes and shortcomings in place that threaten to nullify their potential.”
Our concerns are especially prevalent in the areas of the bill focused on teacher quality and evaluation; the language is fraught with loopholes and contains few enforcement provisions. Likewise, the bill’s lack of a definition for graduation rates opens up the possibility of including GED attainment or other coursework unrelated to college or career readiness as part of school accountability. Finally, it is also lacking in the area of school improvement, where required action is absent save for the worst of schools.
In spite of these flaws, Democrats for Education Reform applauds the leadership of Senator Harkin and his staff in making necessary improvements to ESEA and in taking on the substantial task of authoring such legislation. We look forward to working closely with Senator Harkin, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and the entire United States Congress in improving this legislation before it is signed into law.
For a more detailed look at SASA’s strengths and weaknesses, click here.