U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Statement on Bipartisan Legislation to Fix "No Child Left Behind"
Statement
U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement after the committee voted unanimously by a vote of 22-0 to pass the Every Child Achieves Act of 2015 (ECAA), which is a bipartisan bill to rewrite the broken No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law. The bill, which includes several Baldwin-authored provisions, now heads to the full Senate for consideration.
"The Every Child Achieves Act is a strong bipartisan step forward as we work to finally fix the broken No Child Left Behind law, which was a one-size-fits-all approach that simply did not work for Wisconsin or its students. Thanks to the leadership of Chairman Alexander and Ranking Member Murray, today we put politics aside in order to get closer to fulfilling the fifty-year-old promise of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that every child has the opportunity to achieve
"However, I believe there is more that must be done as this measure moves forward. We must ensure that core educational resources are available to all children, regardless of where they live or how much their parents make. Accountability systems must be strengthened, so low-income and minority students, and students with disabilities do not fall through the cracks, and that the work of closing our achievement and opportunity gaps continues. Increasing the number of students who graduate from high school must be a priority, with a dedicated program similar to my NextGen High Schools Act, which provides schools flexibility and support to redesign, innovate and better serve their students. And it is imperative that our children have a safe environment in which they can learn, and we must work to protect all of them from bullying, harassment and discrimination in our nation's schools.
"I look forward to making these objectives a priority as we continue our work in the Senate to enact a bill that truly fulfills the promise of ESEA for children and families in Wisconsin and all across this country."
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