Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today voted to approve legislation that updates and improves upon No Child Left Behind – the decade-old federal education law that governs most federal spending in  K-12 education.  The bill, which today received bipartisan approval from members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, is now ready for full Senate consideration.

            As a senior member of the HELP Committee, Bingaman played a leading role in writing the bill.  For instance, the legislation contains key provisions from Bingaman’s Graduation Promise Act – a stand-alone bill he wrote to focus on low-performing high schools.  The committee-passed bill contains provisions Bingaman wrote to target “dropout factories,” high schools with graduation rates below 60 percent.  It includes funding to turn these schools around.

“For too long, high schools across the country have looked the other way when their students dropped out.  This bill, for the first time, shines a spotlight on these ‘dropout factories’ and requires them to make substantial improvements to better serve students who are at risk of dropping out,” Bingaman said. 

At Bingaman’s urging, the measure also reauthorizes a program Bingaman first wrote into law 2002 that pays test fees and provides incentives to increase the number of low income students taking Advanced Placement (AP) courses and  tests.

            “AP courses raise the quality of education offered at a school, and students who take them can earn college credits even before the finish high school,” Bingaman said.  “This bill will help ensure that students are not shut out of the many benefits AP has to offer simply because they cannot afford the fees.” 

            During consideration today, Bingaman won bipartisan approval of an amendment he wrote to ensure schools have the funding needed to adopt technology in the classroom.  Specifically, the amendment reauthorizes a grant program that provides funds to schools for computers, software and teacher training that aid in the education process.

            “Having up-to-date technology in the classroom is increasingly important to ensuring students are prepared for the 21st Century workforce,” Bingaman said.  “This grant funding will give financially-strapped schools access to this essential technology.

            The debate on the Senate floor has not yet been scheduled.  A summary of the legislation follows:

The Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Act of 2011

To compete in the global economy, ensure America’s long-term prosperity, and protect our middle class, America needs to provide every child with a world-class education.  The Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Act will set high expectations for all children to graduate from high school with the knowledge and skills needed for success in college and careers, support teachers and principals to help them provide high-quality instruction, ensure disadvantaged students get their fair share of resources, focus federal attention on turning around low-performing schools and closing achievement gaps, and remove federal barriers to give states and communities the flexibility they need to innovate.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Act will:

Fix the one-size-fits-all approach created by the No Child Left Behind Act. 

• Eliminate policies like the “adequate yearly progress” requirements and mandated federal sanctions for all schools that create pressure to “teach to the test.”
• Support state-designed accountability systems consistent with principles established by the national organization of State superintendents. 
• Make schools accountable to the communities they serve by ensuring that all parents, families, and community members have access to disaggregated information about how effectively their schools are educating all students. 
• Help ensure that every student graduates from high school ready for college and a career.
• Support states as they develop and implement college and career ready academic standards with high-quality assessments that will help make our young people the most skilled citizens in the world.
• Fix America’s dropout factories, the 12 percent of high schools that produce 50 percent of our dropouts.
• Help more children access high quality preschool and foster collaboration between early childhood programs and school systems to ensure that children start school ready to  succeed. 
• Support great teachers and principals, and ensure that all children receive the best instruction. 
• Help ensure there are great teachers and principals in every school through improved support and evaluation systems.
• Recruit and train teachers in high-need subjects like math and science.
• Help more schools provide a well-rounded education with time for the arts and physical activity.
• Support student success by promoting safe and healthy schools.
• Prepare more teachers to teach the diverse learners in America’s schools including students with disabilities and English learners.
• Focus the federal government’s role on the things it does best, while giving states and communities the flexibility they need to address the unique needs of their students and schools. 
• Direct federal resources to turn around chronically struggling schools and those with significant achievement gaps and allow states to take student progress into consideration while rating schools.
• Break down barriers and promote alignment from early learning to K-12 to higher education, and across federal education programs.
• Consolidate and streamline programs in the current law and eliminate those that are duplicative or unnecessary.