DFER’s take on the Obama’s SOTU

Here's DFER's take on the Obama's state of the union address:

STATEMENT OF DEMOCRATS FOR EDUCATION REFORM'S CHARLES BARONE ON PRESIDENT OBAMA'S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

 

President Obama tonight delivered a bold vision to use education innovation and investment to drive job creation and economic growth. He made clear his desire to reach bipartisan agreement to overhaul the federal No Child Left Behind Act and emphasize policies that close the U.S. achievement gap with other industrialized countries.

The only obstacle to a comprehensive, bipartisan education bill is party politics. The reaction of Congressional Republicans to the Obama education agenda has ranged from inert to obstructive. 

We hope that Republican Congressional leaders do not make the cynical calculation to deny Obama a legislative victory and sacrifice the nation's long-term economic interests to those of the 2012 campaign. 

We are encouraged by the fact that outside the beltway, Republican and Democratic Governors and state legislators have embraced Obama education initiatives like Race to the Top and Investing in Innovation (i3). And we remain confident that the success of these reform programs and the collaborative spirit with which they are being undertaken raise the odds that, ultimately, Congress and thePresident can reach agreement on an education agenda very much like the one he laid out this evening.