Last week, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee reached a bipartisan agreement to move the “Every Child Achieves Act” to the full Senate for further consideration. Throughout the 3-day markup, the Committee considered 57 amendments and approved 29 of these for inclusion in the bill.
JFF applauds Chairman Alexander, Ranking Member Murray, and the entire Committee for moving this legislation on a bipartisan basis. The legislation includes many provisions that are important to JFF including improvements in student assessments, data transparency, an increased focus on college and career readiness, and language that encourages early college and dual enrollment strategies that are critical to helping students make successful and accelerated transitions to postsecondary education. We look forward to working with Members of the Committee and the full Senate to further develop the legislation, to ensure the nation’s continued progress in high school graduation rates and the ability of all students to successfully transition to postsecondary education and high value careers.