Reauth Madness!

Arne Duncan said today while releasing the President’s budget request that “we’re going to continue to grow this pot.”*  Subversive!  Expect demands for an apology any minute.

But everyone is excited about ESEA reauthorization given the administration’s host of proposals today.   Eliza Krigman has a solid write-up in National Journal.   Justin Cohen has a great blog post laying out the issues.  Meanwhile in The Times Rip Van Dillon seems to have missed the past eight years.  He writes:

“Educators have complained loudly in the eight years since the law was signed that it was branding tens of thousands of schools as failing but not forcing them to change.”

Right…that was the complaint…not enough reform!

Meanwhile, Willingham thinks the psychology of Race to the Top is screwed-up.  He’s right but only insofar as you define state desire as a comprehensive statewide function and consensus rather than some leaders using this as leverage to move the ball.

*OK, he was referring to Race to the Top funds…

One Reply to “Reauth Madness!”

  1. Also not sure I buy Willingham’s argument re: money as a motivator. Sure, there may be some things that states treat as “checklists” rather than implementing with fidelity. But if, for example, a state accepts more charters just to get the cash (and not out of some undying love for charter schools), the schools will exist, and the opportunity for new models will be out there. Not all reforms require zealous implementation on the part of states; some just require that they get out of the way.

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