The New York Times recently reported that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan “will unilaterally override the centerpiece requirement of the No Child Left Behind school accountability law, that 100 percent of students be proficient in math and reading by 2014.”
This statement comes at a time when our public school system is falling behind nearly all developed countries and the future of our most lucrative natural resource, the youth, is looking dimmer and dimmer.
The law, as it stands now, mandates that all students be proficient in math and reading by 2014. This deadline was believed by many to be unrealistic, even when it was signed in 2002.
This move will allow states to apply for waivers from the proficiency requirements that No Child Left Behind imposes, provided that the states prove they are making efforts for better testing and accountability in their schools.
There is worry that this move to encourage states to apply for waivers will give schools a pass on accountability. With a majority of schools not passing the pass-fail grade system created by NCLB, it is more than evident that action needs to be taken with education policy reform, so that students can be successful in our schools and become contributing members of society.
Frederick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute is quoted in the article as saying “Mr. Duncan’s plan [is] “a dramatically broad reading of executive authority.”
Though few would argue that the condition of our public schools is praiseworthy, much less acceptable, this action by Secretary Duncan is a significant step towards executive overreach, which is something that has become all too common with the Obama Administration.
We have seen this trend in many areas of policy with the Obama Administration from the appointment of Cabinet secretaries and czars while Congress is not in session to the Environmental Protection Agency implementing Cap and Trade policies through regulations, that Congress would not approve on a vote, and now, the administration is using executive fiat to side step congress, and do what it wishes with public education.
There are many domestic policy issues that have not been addressed by the past two congresses under the Obama administration, including education and immigration. But to change policy using regulatory measures by appointed bureaucrats is unconstitutional and undemocratic and has become far too common under this administration.
E. J. Flores is is an intern at the American Journalism Center, a training program run by Accuracy in Media and Accuracy in Academia.
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