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ST. PAUL, Minn. Dec. 9, 2015— Education Minnesota President Denise Specht released the following statement in reaction to the passage by the U.S. Senate of the Every Student Succeeds Act, a bill to reauthorize the federal education law known as No Child Left Behind. President Barack Obama is expected to sign the bill into law as soon as this week.

“This vote is another step on the road to victory for students and educators who are tired of the test-and-punish system of school accountability built into No Child Left Behind,” Specht said. “ESSA will give Minnesotans the chance to define what’s a ‘good school’ for Minnesota children, not some bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.”

Students and educators in Minnesota have lived with the unintended consequences of the failed No Child Left Behind law for more than 14 years.

“Educators will have a seat at the table when it comes to making decisions that affect their students and classrooms,” Specht said. “This legislation begins to close the opportunity gaps for students allowing states to create a new system that includes an ‘opportunity dashboard’ with indicators of school success and student support. It also disconnects high-stakes decisions and statewide testing so students have more time to develop critical thinking while educators do what they love — inspire a lifelong love of learning.”

For Education Minnesota members, the stakes couldn’t have been higher. The extraordinary effort to get Congress to rewrite NCLB, resulted in a unprecedented bipartisan and bicameral compromise and eventual bill language in late November. The bill sailed through the U.S. House with a vote of 359 in favor to 64 against.

Leading up to ESSA’s passage, educators mobilized in Minnesota and across the nation, using face-to-face meetings with lawmakers, phone calls, petitions, emails and social media to urge Congress to bring the joy of teaching and learning back to the classroom and help close opportunity and resource gaps so that all students have access to a well-rounded education. Educators nationwide made nearly a half million individual contacts to members of Congress.

About Education Minnesota
Education Minnesota is the voice for professional educators and students. Education Minnesota’s members include teachers and education support professionals in Minnesota’s public school districts, faculty members at Minnesota’s community and technical colleges and University of Minnesota campuses in Duluth and Crookston, retired educators and student teachers. Education Minnesota is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association and AFL-CIO.