WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is asking Congress to rewrite the nation’s main education law before the new school year starts in September, setting an ambitious timetable for lawmakers whose primary focus now is on budget cuts and the deficit.
Obama says he wants every child to return to school in the fall knowing that America is making their education a priority.
He says he wants an updated education law to empower principals and teachers, support innovation at the state and local levels, and target resources to schools with consistent records of poor performance.
Obama came into office pledging to rewrite George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind law. Members of both parties now see it as overly prescriptive. Obama spoke Monday at a middle school in nearby Arlington, Va.
