WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, today issued the following statement after U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan convened a meeting of stakeholders and education advocates to discuss education reform and the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Duncan has visited schools in over 30 states as part of his “Listening and Learning” Tour, which Secretary Duncan launched in May to seek input from stakeholders, teacher and parents on President Obama’s education agenda.
"Secretary Duncan and I have both spent a great deal of time listening and learning from parents, students, teachers, and school leaders about No Child Left Behind. We know the law is in need of a major overhaul -- and how much is at stake in getting it right. Education is the civil rights issue of our generation, but current law has major flaws that have allowed states to lower the bar for children and allowed achievement gaps to persist.
“We have to improve the law in reasonable and commonsense ways that reflect what we’ve learned since the last reauthorization and that build on the important reforms outlined in the Race to the Top Fund. A world-class education system must incentivize and reward teachers for excellence, must ensure that all students are held to rigorous standards that prepare them for a 21st century economy, must measure student achievement more accurately and fairly, and must help turn around our lowest-performing schools, among other things. I look forward to working with President Obama, Secretary Duncan and Senator Harkin, and all key stakeholders to rewrite the law in a comprehensive and meaningful way that finally fulfills the promise of an excellent education for every child in America.”
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