News Brief
Top K-12 Senator Tom Harkin to Retire
Education Week (01/26/13) Klein, AlysonU.S. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) will not seek re-election in 2014. He oversees the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, which is tasked with renewing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the Higher Education Act, and other bills that deal with schools. He also chairs a Senate appropriations subcommittee that writes funding bills for all K-12 programs. Harkin is considered a champion of special education and federal funding for school facilities. His retirement could upset education bills in the works, though he could push through a rewrite of the No Child Left Behind law, which is up for reauthorization. However, this work could run contrary to the Obama administration's desire to hold off on reauthorization, while states earning waivers have a chance to work on their own programs to improve student achievement. Harkin also could turn away from ESEA reauthorization in favor of renewing the Higher Education Act or an update of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. His retirement will spur a scramble as to who will take over the education and appropriations subcommittee.
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