Statement by Lanae Erickson Hatalsky, Vice President for Social Policy & Politics, on the Release of ESEA Conference Committee Report

WASHINGTON -- Third Way Vice President for Social Policy & Politics Lanae Erickson Hatalsky issued the following statement in response to the release of the ESEA conference committee report:

“The time has come to update No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and end the uncertainty that states face navigating a waiver system that changes from year to year and Administration to Administration. The bipartisan, bicameral Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) succeeds in repairing the parts of NCLB we know are broken without abandoning the progress our country has made so no student or group of students falls through the cracks. In a time when compromise is rare, we commend Chairmen Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and John Kline (R-MN) and Ranking Members Patty Murray (D-WA) and Bobby Scott (D-VA) for their leadership updating this indispensable law. This compromise throws some much-needed water on the political firestorm around testing that has erupted and gives communities a bigger say in how they address schools that aren’t serving their students. And it would do so while keeping in place crucial federal guardrails to ensure states do not shirk their responsibilities, as some have under past versions of this law. Voters want to see Congress get things done, and enacting this bill with the same bipartisan spirit in which it was crafted would be a huge accomplishment policymakers in both parties could take back home. Finally, Members could say to their constituents: ‘I fixed No Child Left Behind.’”