On February 28, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a markup on the Student Success Act (H.R. 3989) and the Encouraging Innovation and Effective Teachers Act (H.R. 3990). These two pieces of legislation will serve as the basis for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Both bills were passed by the full committee on a party line vote of 23 to 16. The two bills are now ready to move forward for consideration of the full House of Representatives.
Key provisions in the bills include replacing the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) system with state-determined accountability systems, maintaining the requirement that states and school districts issue and distribute annual report cards with disaggregated data on student achievement, repealing the federal "Highly Qualified Teacher" mandate, requiring states and school districts to develop teacher evaluation systems, and consolidating existing education programs into a new Local Academic Flexible Grant.
Additionally, the Education for Tomorrow’s Jobs Act (H.R. 3154), a bill introduced last October by Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA), co-chair of the Congressional CTE Caucus, was included as part of the Student Success Act. The legislative language from the Education for Tomorrow’s Jobs Act would allow school districts to use Title I ESEA funds to better integrate academics with CTE through coursework and networks of schools. The bill would encourage school districts to link secondary school programs, including both middle and high schools, and align secondary and postsecondary education.“American competitiveness is contingent upon the next generation of young minds attaining both the knowledge and necessary skills to graduate high school and be career and college ready,” said Rep. Thompson. ACTE is a supporter of the Education for Tomorrow’s Jobs Act.
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