Federal Update: Congress Picks up Pace on ESEA Reauthorization, Slogs Along on Budget

By Kelly Pollitt, NAESP Director of Advocacy, Policy, and Special Projects CommunicatorOctober 2011, Volume 35, Issue 2 While Congress continues to work on reducing deficit spending and passing a final FY 2012 budget, lawmakers and the Obama administration this month stepped up activity surrounding the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Until now, the political tension between Democrats and Republicans in Congress had been largely responsible for the stalemate on ESEA reauthorization.