WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush plans to meet with lawmakers next week to jump-start talks over the renewal of the No Child Left Behind education law, a Democratic congressional aide said Wednesday.
The top Democrats and Republicans on the House and Senate committees that deal with education issues planned to attend the White House meeting Monday, said the aide on the condition of anonymity because the White House had not announced the session.
Monday also is the day the Bush administration is commemorating the fifth anniversary of what is widely considered the most significant federal education law in decades.
Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, said she was "optimistic about the ability to make progress this year" on renewing the law for five more years.
The law aims to ensure that all children can read and do math at grade level by 2014, a goal that has placed unprecedented demands on schools. They have been required to increase testing, raise teacher quality and pay more attention to the achievements of minority children.
***
more:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/01/03/bush.education.ap/index.htmlI thought we already had a consensus -- teachers, students, parents, and administrators all agree -- NCLB is a loser.