President Obama signed into law the Every Student Succeeds Act Thursday, a bipartisan fix to the much-criticized No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
The bill gives states more power over what to do with failing schools, although it requires some state-designed plan to identify and reform failing schools. Federally required testing is no longer tied to any federal consequences. The bill also prohibits the Department of Education from giving states special positive or negative incentives to adopt specific academic standards, as Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has been doing with Common Core using waivers from No Child Left Behind.
Note that Hillary Clinton voted in favor of No Child Left Behind in 2001 and announced her support for the Every Student Succeeds Act, which is widely considered a fix to No Child Left Behind’s worst flaws.
Five presidential candidates currently serve in Congress and had a chance to vote on the bill.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas: Cruz voted against the initial draft in July. He was not present for the final vote on Wednesday, but opposed a cloture motion to advance the bill on Tuesday. “The Every Student Succeeds Act unfortunately continues to propagate the large and ever-growing role of the federal government in our education system,” Cruz said in a press release.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.: Graham was not present for the initial vote in July. He voted in favor of the final bill on Wednesday.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.: As a member of the Senate education committee, Paul had four opportunities to vote on the bill. Paul first voted in favor of the bill as it was leaving the committee, though so did the other 21 members of the committee in what was largely seen as a symbolically bipartisan vote. Paul then voted against the bill on the Senate floor in July. During the conference committee in November, Paul was the only “no” vote of the 40 members. Paul voted against the bill a last time on Wednesday.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.: Voted against the initial version in July. Was not present for both Tuesday’s cloture vote and Wednesday’s final vote.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.: Sanders also had four opportunities to vote on the bill. Like Paul, Sanders voted for the initial bill in the Senate education committee’s unanimous vote. He then voted for the initial bill on the Senate floor in July. He voted for the conference committee version in November. Sanders was not present for either Tuesday’s cloture vote or Wednesday’s final vote.
Hillary Clinton: Although she does not serve in Congress any more, Clinton announced her support in a press release. “The Every Student Succeeds Act is not perfect, but it puts us on a path to provide states and teachers flexibility to serve the needs of their students while also ensuring schools are held accountable to raise achievement for all students—particularly for low-income students, students of color, English Language Learners, and students with disabilities,” Clinton said.
When No Child Left Behind went through Congress in 2001, there were four now-presidential candidates serving in Congress. Here’s how they voted at the time:
Rep. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.: Voted in favor of both the initial bill and the final bill.
Rep. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.: Voted in favor of the initial bill in May 2001. Voted against the final version in December 2001.
Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.: Voted in favor of both the initial bill and the final bill.
Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa.: Voted in favor of both the initial bill and the final bill.
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
