After 13 hours of debate, a key Senate panel approved its long-awaited education reform bill with bipartisan support Thursday night, a major step in the process of overhauling the 10-year-old No Child Left Behind law.
Hailing it as a breakthrough of bipartisanship, Sen. Tom Harkin on Tuesday unveiled his long-awaited education reform package, a wide-ranging bill that in many ways reduces the federal government's involvement in local districts and state education systems.
After months of delay, Sen. Tom Harkin, Iowa Democrat, is expected to release his blueprint for education reform on Tuesday, following the White House, Senate Republicans and the House GOP, in laying his cards on the table in the debate over what should replace the decade-old No Child Left Behind law.
The federal government must reduce its footprint in education and give local school systems more flexibility to craft curricula and measure student performance, school leaders from across the country told a House committee hearing Thursday.
New House Speaker John A. Boehner formally endorsed a bill Wednesday to revive and expand the school voucher program for the District of Columbia, calling it "a model for similar programs throughout our country."
The top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Education Committee said Wednesday they plan to have a reauthorization bill for No Child Left Behind to President Obama by late summer and that it would include broad changes, including possibly renaming the landmark education-reform legislation to "Every Child Counts."
A group of Republican senators threatened to force changes to the new national health care law unless the Obama administration does more to ensure that federal dollars won't be used to pay for elective abortions.
A few months ago, Dawn Connor was just another college student, attending night courses to become a veterinary technician and practicing her trade by spaying and neutering dogs and cats from a local shelter.
The Senate will take up legislation tomorrow that would give the Food and Drug Administration the authority to make tobacco products less harmful to consumers.
