Three things are complicating the reauthorization process for ESEA. First, the House and Senate decided to approach it in very different ways. The House of Representatives is reauthorizing each titles of the act as a separate bill. Second, the full House Education and the Workforce Committee is working on the reauthorization, instead of the standard system in which the subcommittee holds hearings and mark-up before passing it to the full committee for consideration. And third, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee has decided to reauthorize ESEA as a single bill. These different styles and different versions of the bill will affect the timetable for reauthorization.
One of the earliest reauthorization bills was introduce by Rep. William
Goodling (R-PA) on February 11 to the House of Representatives. Goodling's
bill, H.R.
2, the Student Results Act of 1999, deals primarily with ESEA programs
that assist low achieving and disadvantaged students. The legislation has
been the topic of a series of hearings in the House Committee
on Education and the Workforce. Also available on the Committee
website is a summary
of the differences between H.R. 2 and the current ESEA law. Below
is the table of contents of the current version of the bill:
| Title I -- Student Results
Part A -- Basic Programs Part B -- Education of Migratory Children Part C -- Neglected or Delinquent Youth Part D -- General Provisions Part E -- Comprehensive School Reform Title II -- Magnet Schools Assistance and Public School Choice Title III -- Teacher Liability Protection Title IV -- Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska native Education Subtitle A -- Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 Part B -- Native Hawaiian Education Part C -- Alaska Native Education Subtitle B -- Amendments to the Education Amendments of 1978 Subtitle C -- Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 1988 Title V -- Gifted and Talented Children Title VI -- Rural Education Assistance Title VII -- McKinney Homeless Education Improvements Act of 1999 Title VIII -- Schoolwide Program Adjustment |
On October 18, the Education Committee released their lengthy report -- available in two parts -- on the legislation before placing it on the House calendar for debate. During the floor debate, several amendments were offered. The most significant amendment for the geoscience community was offered by Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), a former professor of physics. Ehlers' amendment required that science assessments and standards be added to all Title I programs in the bill. The American Institute of Physics Bulletin of Science Policy News released a copy of Ehlers' floor speech.
State-set standards and assessments for reading and math are already on the books, and the amendment would change the bill to incorporate science into these evaluations. The amendment marks the 2005-2006 school year as the first year that schools will be required to implement science assessments. Currently, nearly half of the states do not have any science standards or assessments, and this amendment would allow for each state to develop its own standards over the next five years. Ehlers said, "This is simply saying this is an important national priority and one of the subjects that we should teach and which our school systems should assess is the knowledge that students have acquired in the scientific arena so that we know whether or not we will have an adequate work force for the future, and so that we will have an adequate number of scientists and engineers as well."
After several days of debate, H.R. 2 passed the House and now awaits consideration by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee. The final bill included the amendment by Ehlers calling for science assessment -- the amendment passed in a 360-62 vote.
Sources: American Institute of Physics Bulletin of Science
Policy News, National Science Teachers Association website, Department
of Education website, House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Triangle
Coalition for Science and Technology Education, hearing testimony, and
Please send any comments or requests for information to the AGI Government Affairs Program.
Contributed by Margaret Baker, AGI Government Affairs
Posted November 19, 1999
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