Ensure a Reauthorized ESEA Protects Children and Civil Rights

Recipient: U.S. Senate

View the PDF of this letter here.

Dear Senator:

On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the 36 undersigned organizations, we write to express our views regarding the Every Child Achieves Act of 2015. We are committed to a reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that preserves the critical federal protections of that law and builds on the lessons of the past to ensure greater academic progress for all students. We believe that the bill must be improved by: strengthening accountability for student outcomes; providing additional data on student groups; addressing disparities in resources; and providing a more meaningful federal role. We look forward to working with you to ensure that the critical protections included in this bill continue to be preserved and that the improvements we seek are incorporated in the final bill. We do not support the bill in its current form because, without addressing these issues, it will not fulfill its functions as a civil rights law.

Accountability
We applaud maintaining the requirement for college or career aligned state standards, statewide annual assessment, disaggregated student achievement (including the 1 percent cap on using alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards to assess students with the most significant disabilities), and goals for achievement and high school graduation. These tools provide invaluable information to parents, communities, educators, advocates, and policymakers to help ensure all students an equitable and excellent education. The power of this reporting, however, is greatly curtailed by the absence of meaningful accountability. States must be required to identify schools where all students or groups of students are not meeting goals and to intervene in ways that raise achievement for students not meeting state standards.

Data
The bill does not require schools to report disaggregated data in a way that can be cross-tabulated by gender and disability status across major racial and ethnic groups. The bill also does not include additional data necessary to track the progress and treatment of all students, including different groups of Asian American students, students in foster care, pregnant and parenting students, and other vulnerable groups of students. It is critical that states transparently report on student groups in order to understand how all of our students are doing and what their needs might be.

Resource Equity
We appreciate that the existing targeting of Title I funds to students, schools, and districts in the greatest need was maintained and that the portability provision was excluded from this bill. We also believe that the new transparency around per-pupil expenditures, school climate and discipline, and access to qualified and effective teachers, principals, and other school leaders will help to identify disparities in educational opportunity. However, while the reporting is robust, there is no requirement to act on the basis of that information. It is critical that states intervene to remedy disparities in access to resources between school districts and that the comparability loophole be closed.

Federal Role
While there are fewer limitations on the authority of the Secretary of Education than were included in the Chairman’s discussion draft, there remains insufficient federal oversight to ensure that the law is faithfully executed as Congress intends. The Secretary must have sufficient authority to ensure the law is appropriately implemented and the most vulnerable students are protected.

We appreciate the work of Senators Alexander and Murray and their staff and look forward to working with you on the Senate floor and as the process moves forward to ensure that the successes of this legislation are maintained and the weaknesses addressed. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Nancy Zirkin, Leadership Conference Executive Vice President, at [email protected], or Liz King, Leadership Conference Director of Education Policy at [email protected].

 

Sincerely,

 

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Alliance for Excellent Education

American Association of University Women (AAUW)

American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)

Association of University Centers on Disability (AUCD)

Children’s Defense Fund

Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates

Democrats for Education Reform

Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund

Easter Seals

Education Law Center-Pennsylvania

Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law

Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

League of United Latin American Citizens

MALDEF

NAACP

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.

National Center for Learning Disabilities

National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools

National Congress of American Indians

National Council of La Raza (NCLR)

National Council on Developmental Disabilities

National Disability Rights Network

National Down Syndrome Congress

National Indian Education Association

National Urban League

National Women’s Law Center

PolicyLink

Southeast Asia Resource Action Center

Southern Education Foundation, Inc.

Southern Poverty Law Center

Stand for Children

TASH

Teach Plus

The Education Trust

TNTP