12/3/15

Last night the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Every Student Succeeds Act, the long-awaited replacement of the No Child Left Behind law. The act now moves on to the Senate.
 
“Victory for all of us,” said MEA-MFT President Eric Feaver.

“But as we move forward to rid ourselves as much of NCLB as possible, don’t forget for a moment that one big reason why Montana public schools and teachers do not look like and suffer like Indiana, New York, Idaho, Kansas, Florida, or name your wreck of a state, is Denise Juneau, who has stood by us all throughout insisting that Montana is NOT Chicago, NOT Cleveland, NOT Kansas, NOT Florida. 
 
“We are Montana.  And no one stands more resolutely for us than Superintendent Denise Juneau. We must not forget.”
  
 
Superintendent Juneau’s Statement On House Approval Of Every Student Succeeds Act
 
HELENA – The U.S. House of Representatives voted today to replace the failed No Child Left Behind law with a proposal that takes great strides toward returning educational accountability to states, local school boards, teachers and parents. 
 
For years, Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau has been urging Congress to rewrite the federal one-size-fits-all education policy that clearly didn’t fit in Montana.
 
“The broken federal education law known as No Child Left Behind is one step closer to becoming history. While the proposed bill isn’t perfect, it does begin returning educational achievement and accountability measures to Montana schools.
 

“The outdated law created absurd expectations designed by urban bureaucrats, which doesn’t make sense for today’s schools. I urge the U.S. Senate to approve the Every Student Succeeds Act and let Montana educators begin the process of designing a system that works for our students.

“It’s about time that the federal government recognizes Montana’s public school leaders know what’s best for our students.”
 

The current draft of Every Student Succeeds does the following:
 

• Eliminates the federally-mandated school-grading system known as Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and will allow states to develop their own accountability measures.
 

• Gives states flexibility when it comes to assessment, while still requiring an annual assessment in grades 3-8 and once in high school.
 

• Includes ongoing support for the Preschool Development Grant, giving more children access to free, quality preschool.