Congressional Update

ESEA Reauthorization Could Be Pushed Back Until Next Year

A tight Congressional schedule and slow progress could mean a postponement of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act until next year, AASA legislative analysts say.

The majority of federal programs administered in K-12 schools are governed by ESEA. Federal law requires that ESEA be reauthorized (renewed) every four years. With ESEA set to expire at the end of 2000, Congress is currently working on a bill that would extend most of the programs for another four years.

The U.S. House of Representatives has already passed several sections of ESEA: Teacher Empowerment Act (TEA), which combines the Class Size Reduction Program and the Eisenhower Professional Development program into a single federal formula; and a Title I bill that focuses heavily on accountability and teacher qualifications. Also included in that bill is the AASA Rural Education Initiative.

While the House of Representatives has passed some of the larger portions of ESEA, they have yet to pass a good number of the more controversial ESEA programs. The remaining programs will be divided up among three bills: The LIFT bill, which re-authorizes and expands the Even Start program; an Impact Aid bill; and a "catch-all" bill that includes a potpourri of the remaining programs. The final catch-all bill will be the most controversial, covering everything from Safe and Drug Free schools to school prayer, condoms and vouchers. Both the LIFT bill and Impact Aid will be before the House in the next month, with the catch-all bill currently slated for mid-March.

The U.S. Senate is proceeding significantly slower than the House. They are working to pass ESEA as a single bill, but little agreement has been reached between Democrats and Republicans. Still, both sides hope to have their bill in the Health Education Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee in February.

Because this is a campaign year, legislators have fewer than 80 legislative days to bring the entire bill to the Senate floor, pass the remaining bills in the House, and conference the bills before the 2000 election. With such a tight schedule, there is a good possibility the reauthorization process will be postponed until next year, said legislative analyst Jordan Cross.

Senate Republicans' insistence on passing some sort of block grant also could delay reauthorization until next year, Cross said.

Meanwhile, the House is expected to amend the final two ESEA bills by adopting language making it clear that discipline for violent behavior or weapons possession must be a matter of local control. This would be the same as the so-called "Norwood amendment" to last year's Juvenile Justice bill, which would allow--not mandate--expulsion in such circumstances, even if the student is in special education, and leaves the question of alternate services to local school authorities.

The Norwood amendment received some 300 votes when it came before the House last year and is expected to pass as an ESEA amendment.

Natalie Carter Holmes, Editor