Wyden, Merkley hail Senate passage of K-12 education bill

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., lauded Wednesday’s Senate passage of the final K-12 education bill to boost high school graduation rates in Oregon and across the country as part of the much-called-for replacement of the 2001 No Child Left Behind law.

The bill, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), includes a provision to help more students graduate from high school by requiring states to identify high schools with low graduation rates and ensuring those schools receive the support they need to improve. The provision is similar to one that Wyden authored and that passed the Senate in July.

“This bill focuses specifically on helping students by raising graduation rates in Oregon and across the country,” Wyden said. “Helping teenagers stay at it and get through to graduation day is a critical step on a path to greater success throughout their lives. This approach will help expand opportunity for students no matter where they live, how much their parents earn, or what obstacles they face.”

The Every Student Succeeds Act gives states more flexibility in setting standards for schools and monitoring how federal dollars are allocated to school districts.

In Oregon, a task force made up of members from the Oregon Education Association and the Oregon Department of Education is working to find ways to improve student assessment systems.

Judy Harris, a member of the task force and a Nationally Board Certified teacher at Hanby Middle School in Gold Hill, said the bill will give teachers more power in the classroom.

“There are many reasons to support this bill — most importantly, it empowers educators to make important classroom decisions so we can do what’s right for our students,” Harris said. “I appreciate that the senator was willing to listen to us, trust our professional opinion, and take a leadership role in getting the bill passed.”

The bill also contains a provision Wyden pushed for that will focus on helping foster children and children experiencing homelessness graduate from high school. Wyden urged conference leaders to include reporting requirements for states and school districts to track the progress of those students and identify new ways to provide them with more support.

The bill passed the House on Dec. 2 and now goes to the president to be signed into law.

Sen. Jeff Merkley released the following statement after the U.S. Senate passed the Every Student Succeeds Act, comprehensive legislation to overhaul the No Child Left Behind Act.

In addition to overhauling the controversial testing and accountability provisions of NCLB, the bill includes increased resources for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and a greater focus on Career and Technical Education (CTE), both of which Merkley had pushed for.

“It’s an enormous relief for students, educators, and parents across Oregon that the deeply broken ‘No Child Left Behind’ law is finally being replaced,” he said. “No Child Left Behind left a lot of children behind. It focused too much on getting some children to meet testing goals while ignoring other children, as well as wiping out numerous core courses and electives that were not tested. It’s time to replace a narrow and often counterproductive focus on high-stakes testing with a broader vision of learning and accountability, and that’s exactly what this bill does.

“As I’ve talked with folks across Oregon, I’ve heard again and again from employers that increased STEM education and CTE in our schools are critical to Oregon’s future economy. Giving students a chance to engage more deeply in these subjects will give them a chance to directly connect their education to real-life applications, and give them a leg up in the workforce. It’s good news for Oregon that an increased focus on STEM education and CTE is included in this bill,” Merkley said.