The midterms and education

In U.S. News & World Report, Frederick Hess and Mike McShane draw several conclusions from the midterms. Teacher unions had a bad night, they observe. Unions poured money into several races this cycle, and only the expensive California superintendent's race (between two Democrats) had the outcome they sought. Unions also campaigned against Republican Govs. Scott Walker in Wisconsin, Rick Snyder in Michigan, Sam Brownback in Kansas, and Rick Scott in Florida; these candidates prevailed. Hess and McShane also note new Republican governorships in blue states: Charlie Baker in Massachusetts, Larry Hogan in Maryland, and Bruce Rauner in Illinois. Though they face Democratic legislatures, these governors could put a productive and distinctive conservative twist on blue-state policy, as Mitt Romney did in Massachusetts. Since Republicans have captured the U.S. Senate, Lamar Alexander -- former U.S. Secretary of Education and governor of Tennessee -- will helm the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee, and has stated he'd like to reauthorize NCLB and end the Obama administration's acting, in his words, as "a national school board." A bill for a drastically circumscribed role for the Department of Education may therefore be introduced. Finally, Hess and McShane note that for all the debate it provoked this year, the Common Core Standards had little bearing on the midterms. More

Source:  Public Education News Blast

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Los Angeles Education Partnership (LAEP) is an education support organization that works as a collaborative partner in high-poverty communities.