- The long-awaited reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act has taken another cautious step forward this week, advancing to the Senate floor for consideration after passing unanimously through committee in April. The legislative process certainly holds the potential for fruitful debate—how best to right-size the federal role in education without endangering accountability, how to address parents’ reasonable concerns about testing, etc.—but it’s critical that the mission of passing a workable law isn’t sidetracked by the usual congressional shenanigans. When President Bush first signed No Child Left Behind, Nickelback had the number-one song in the country. Nickelback, people. Let’s not kill our best shot at helping a new generation of students.
- Speaking of overdue policy action: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, besieged by the city’s extraordinary teacher pension costs, has publicly called for a sweeping overhaul. The system’s evaporating solvency has led to some absolutely staggering figures: In order to offset the hit from a looming $634 million pension payment, Chicago Public Schools announced some $200 million in budget cuts, generated in part by 1,400 layoffs. Those firings will reportedly be focused on administrative and support positions rather than the classroom, but it’s a grim reality nonetheless. The individual picture, that of a mayor (who’s definitely, definitely not a school reformer) forced into savage retrenchment by decades of irresponsible bargaining between city and union leaders, has become a familiar one. What makes it worse is that the existing retirement structure punishes many teachers as severely as it does city finances.
