U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chairs hearings on a rewrite of No Child Left Behind.
It's common for interest groups to play on both sides of the political aisle, even if they tend to lean in one direction. But when it comes to recognizing its champions in public life, the nation's largest teachers union has a long history of favoring Democrats.
That's why it's noteworthy that, this month, the National Education Association bestowed its highest honor, the "Friend of Education Award," on Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.
For the NEA, this was a break from the recent past. Education Week reported Alexander is the first Republican to receive the award in more than 30 years. The last was Robert T. Stafford, a Vermont Senator whose policy preferences were notably to the left of today's GOP. Past honorees have included Jimmy Carter, George McGovern and both Bill and Hillary Clinton, as well as writers Diane Ravitch and Jonathan Kozol.
Alexander, a former U.S. Education Secretary and a longtime supporter of educational choice, shared this year's award with Sen. Patty Murray, D-WA. (who also received the honor in 2013), for their role in crafting and passing the largest overhaul of federal school accountability policy since No Child Left Behind.
The new law, the Every Student Succeeds Act, has gotten attention for shifting power over education policy away from the federal government and back to the state and local level. It was backed by an alliance between conservatives like Alexander, who favor local control, and traditional public education players like the NEA and the National School Boards Association.
Why were left-leaning labor groups able to align with both their own management and congressional conservatives to back the new law? The reasons boil down to who has power over public education. Congressman Rodney Davis, R-Ill., who visited an NEA reception at last week's Republican National Convention, offered a concise explanation. (more…)
