After nearly two months of negotiating behind closed doors, Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., the chairman and ranking member of the education committee, appear to be nearing consensus on major pieces of a bipartisan draft to overhaul the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, according to sources.
In what seems to be a departure from Alexander’s original draft legislation, unveiled in January, the version being negotiated likely wouldn’t allow Title I dollars for low-income students to follow them to the school of their choice, sources said.
The elimination of that language would be a big win for Murray, and especially for the Obama administration, which has all but said it would veto any bill that included the provision, known as “Title I portability.” In their view, that would funnel resources out of poor communities and into wealthier ones.
