John King, senior advisor delegated duties of deputy secretary of education, will lead a discussion on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) on Monday, March 23, at the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) Legislative Conference. The theme of this year's NASBE legislative conference is "Federal Education Policy Under Construction."
To maintain and accelerate the progress students are making, the Obama Administration is calling for an overhaul of ESEA —also known as No Child Left Behind—with a bipartisan law that not only ensures students are prepared for college, careers and life, but also delivers on the promise of equity and real opportunity for every child.
King will discuss the need for a new law that supports state and local efforts to reduce unnecessary testing; gives teachers and principals the resources they need, while also supporting schools and districts in creating innovative new solutions to problems; makes real investments in high-poverty schools and districts and in expanding high-quality preschool, and addresses funding inequities for schools that serve high proportions of low-income students; ensures high expectations for all students; and asks that where schools or groups of students are not making progress, steps will be taken to improve outcomes for those students, including more significant action in and resources for the lowest achieving 5 percent of schools.