House Republicans Proposed Reauthorization of NCLB
FARRAH LUU
Staff Writer
Recently, House Republicans proposed a piece of legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). New data provided by the U.S. Department of Education shows that this reauthorization could mean over $3 billion less in federal funding for 33 of the largest school districts with high populations of black and Hispanic students.
According to the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), ESEA was brought into law in 1965 by President Lyndon Baines Johnson. ESEA was meant to assist districts serving low-income students through federal grants and scholarships. In 2002, former president George W. Bush revised ESEA, now commonly known as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
NCLB was supposed to be reauthorized in 2007. Now eight years later, Congress and the administration agrees NCLB needs revision, according to ASCD. On Jan. 12, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan gave a speech at Seaton Elementary School in Washington D.C., where he called on Congress to make a law to improve access to all children while making advances for equality.
“[This bill] is certainly not okay. America is about equal rights and all students are the basis for our country’s future. You can’t just ignore them,” freshman Katherine Gong said.
However, House Republicans propose the exact opposite of what Secretary Duncan hoped for. According to the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), the proposed bill locks funding, at sequestration levels or the cancellation of budgetary resources, allowing states the freedom to divert their money toward wealthier school districts.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, if the reauthorization of NCLB is passed, it would deny resources to the students and teachers who need it most. School districts that have poverty levels of more than 25 percent could lose $700 million in funding, while wealthier districts could gain $470 million. School districts with high-poverty concentrations could possibly see cuts of up to 74 percent.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, 10 out of the 100 largest school districts which serve high concentrations of black students could lose a total of more than $1.3 billion in federal funding. In addition, 20 of the largest school districts which serve a large percentage of Hispanic students could lose more than $1.9 billion.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, one district that could be affected by this law is the Los Angeles Unified School District, which has a 74 percent Hispanic population. They risk losing $782 million in federal funding if the proposed reauthorization passes.
“I believe everyone should be able to get the education they deserve. We are the leaders for the future,” freshman Edith Garcia said.
The proposed bill also takes away the guarantee that federal funding will actually reach the classrooms. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the reauthorization of NCLB does not support taxpayers. It sends tens of billions of dollars go to states, schools and districts without giving the reassurance that the money will help improve students’ education.
“I do not think it is beneficial when [the reauthorization] defeats the purpose of why the program was established. It literally leaves students behind,” sophomore Sara Castro said.
However, the proposed reauthorization does remove the “one-size-fits-all” description that came along with NCLB, according to the National Association of Elementary School Principals. The proposed legislation also includes extended-year graduation rates, helping those who did not graduate high school while encouraging schools to help re-engage struggling students, according to NASSP.
“Without equal opportunities regardless of race, background and appearance, we are not giving people a chance to break their confinement in society’s stereotypical expectations. It is not beneficial in any way, and instead of improvement, all we will find are even more complications,” sophomore Kyle Eng said.