Getting education bills to the finish line

By Matthew M. Chingos and Martin R. West. The two most significant laws governing education in this nation, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the Higher Education Act (HEA), are both well past due for a congressional update. ESEA was last reauthorized in 2002, with the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act, and the latest iteration of HEA was authorized in 2008. Despite widespread consensus that these laws need to be rewritten, every attempt at reauthorization in recent years has been met with failure. More...