October 2007 — News

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Senate NCLB Discussion Draft Revealed

by Dave Nagel

The United States Senate has released a discussion draft for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Seconday Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), Titles I through VII and X. As with the House version introduced last month, the Senate's draft includes language from the ATTAIN Act, emphasizing funding for education technology, professional development, and various systemic reform initiatives.

The reauthorization language, drafted by Senators Edward Kennedy (MA) and Michael Enzi (WY) and released Tuesday night, is similar to that of the ESEA discussion draft that came out of the House Committee on Education and Labor in early September. The House version had removed some of the provisions of the ATTAIN Act; the Senate version includes all of the major provisions. Neither version has yet been introduced formally as legislation.

At present, the draft--which, it should be emphasized, is not a final draft--is being reviewed by the State Education Technology Directors Association (SETDA), which had provided input on the original ATTAIN bill.

What Is ATTAIN?
ATTAIN (Achievement Through Technology and Innovation) aims to revamp Title II, Part D of ESEA--which had been amended and reauthorized through the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001--to enhance professional development for teachers, improve technical proficiency in students, and otherwise support technology in various ways to advance student achievement. It was introduced as legislation in both the Senate and House earlier this year to reauthorize the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) Act of 2001 and has since been rolled into the draft language of ESEA/NCLB reauthorization proposals in the Senate and House.

The bill, introduced originally in the House in May 2007 by U.S. Representatives Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA), Ruben Hinojosa (TX), Judy Biggert (IL), and Ron Kind (WI), was developed with input from three major ed tech groups, including the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), and the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA), as well as the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) and other stakeholders. It was introduced in the Senate in August by Sen. Jeff Bingaman (NM) and co-sponsored by Senators Richard Burr (NC) and Patty Murray (WA).