U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will give luncheon remarks, followed by a question-and-answer session, at the Council of the Great City Schools Annual Legislative and Policy Conference on Sunday, March 23, in Washington, D.C. Duncan will discuss equity and opportunity in education, and the recent release of comprehensive civil rights data from the 2011-12 school year. In addition, he will discuss the president's fiscal year 2015 budget request for education and the administration's education priorities.
On Monday, the Department's Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education Deb Delisle will discuss the importance of education reform, extending Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) flexibility to states while waiting for the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind, School Improvement Grants to turn around persistently low-achieving schools and more.
The conference, which will bring together urban school leaders—superintendents, board members, senior administrators and other education officials—takes place March 22-25. It will focus on such topics as emerging legislation and policy issues, and their impact on states; and education funding. The goal of the Council of the Great City Schools is to educate students in large city schools to the highest academic standards and to engage parents and build a confident, committed and supportive urban community for raising the achievement of urban public schoolchildren.