NCLB Reauthorization Status Report from LATimes

Just wanted to link all of you to a great status report on NCLB Reauthorization. Kudos to Nicole Gaouette the author.

WASHINGTON -- Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez) has never been one to
back away from a brawl -- he once warned an adversary that if he wanted
to fight, it was going to take a while, so he'd better bring lunch. But
as Miller pushes to renew the landmark education law known as No Child
Left Behind, he faces so many fights that the fate of the bill is
increasingly in doubt.

As chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, Miller is
sparring with Republicans who see his proposed changes as an
unacceptable watering down of the law's core standards.

Teachers object to his proposal to link pay to performance.

Even his fellow Democrats -- particularly freshmen who campaigned
against it and members of the Congressional Black Caucus -- are giving
him a hard time, largely for not doing enough to soften the law's most
rigid requirements.

The 2001 law, President Bush's hallmark domestic achievement, is
supposed to be renewed every five years, although it remains in effect
even if lawmakers fail to do that.

Democrats pledged to rewrite it this year, but time is short and
political tensions are high. Congress plans to adjourn for the year in
a few weeks. And some Democrats are loath to give Bush a victory on No
Child Left Behind when he refused to compromise on the Iraq war.

"We're certainly not in full agreement," Miller said, mentioning talks
with committee Republicans. "Not between my caucus and their caucus,
not between Mr. McKeon and myself. Whether we can reach an agreement
remains to be seen. We're pushing as hard as we can."

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