Coalition Issues Priorities for ESEA, Reacts to Alexander Proposal

January 16, 2015

The STEM Education Coalition today sent a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate education committees outlining key principles that should be embodied in legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, otherwise known as No Child Left Behind.   The main focus of the Coalition’s advocacy will be on ensuring that the federal accountability system includes a strong focus on mathematics and science and that STEM activities receive a meaningful preference in the allocation of scare federal dollars.   The Coalition has also argued aggressively that federal education policies must elevate STEM education as a national priority so students can compete successfully for the best jobs.

See the Coalition’s ESEA recommendation letter here.

The Coalition also issued a statement in response to Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander’s release this week of a 400-page discussion draft of a rewrite of No Child Left Behind:

“We appreciate Chairman Alexander’s efforts to assemble a comprehensive discussion draft proposal to revise the No Child Left Behind law.   We look forward to working with him and his colleagues to enact a bill that will ensure that STEM education is a national priority – as Congress and the Chairman have repeatedly agreed it should be.   This includes maintaining federal accountability requirements in science and mathematics and ensuring that STEM-related activities are a continued priority for federal dollars.”

– James Brown, Executive Director, STEM Education Coalition