Six senators offer recommendations to strengthen education bill

Today, as the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee prepares to mark up a bill reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, a group of six senators – including U.S. Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA), Angus King (I-ME), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) – offered recommendations to strengthen the proposed bill, the Every Child Achieves Act of 2015.

In a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the HELP Committee, the Senators identified specific priorities necessary to ensure that every child receives a high-quality education that prepares him or her for higher education and a 21^st century career.

“We believe that an ESEA reauthorization must recognize the leading role of teachers, school leaders, parents, and local districts in preparing our children to succeed in an ever-changing global economy. At the same time, we must also make improvements to the bill to prevent our education system from reverting to a time when our country would allow some group of students to persistently underperform,” wrote the Senators.