With both houses of Congress moving apace to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the question is not whether the new legislation will reduce the federal government’s footprint in K-12 education; it assuredly will. The question is whether, in their understandable efforts to rein in Washington’s influence, legislators can preserve those elements of federal policy that stand to benefit students and taxpayers—particularly those that fulfill functions that would otherwise go unaddressed within our multi-layered system of education governance.
One key unresolved issue involves the status of competitive grant programs, through which the Department of Education invites states and school districts to apply for funds to support programs that address federally identified priorities. In the current environment, Congress may be tempted to eschew all programs structured in this way, preferring to rely on formulas to ensure that schools receive their fair share of federal funds. That would be a mistake. Flexible competitive grant programs that encourage innovations in policy and practice and ensure that they are subjected to rigorous evaluation should remain a part of ESEA going forward. In particular, the Investing in Innovation (i3) fund, a program created through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act that is not a part of the reauthorization bills now moving through Congress, deserves a second look.
Increased reliance on competitive grants has been arguably the defining feature of the Obama administration’s K-12 education policy. Its signature Race to the Top program (RTT) asked states to compete for $4.35 billion in federal grants based on their commitment to implement a 19-item reform agenda. Expansive in its scope, RTT quickly became a symbol of what Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee chairman Lamar Alexander has characterized as the Department’s efforts to dictate to states and school districts the details of how best to improve local schools. Congressional discontent with RTT-style policies is not limited to Republicans, however. Most legislators prefer to claim credit for funds allocated by formula rather than risk the ire of constituents whose applications are rejected, and rural members in particular often feel as if their districts are at a disadvantage when funding is competitive. Perhaps because of this discontent, President Obama’s 2016 budget proposal did not include funds for a new RTT competition.