NCLB and the Future of Federal Education Policy

Panel 1: What Should Happen with the NCLB Reauthorization?
Featuring Martin A. Davis, Jr., Senior Writer and Editor, Thomas B. Fordham Foundation; Dan Lips, Education Analyst in Domestic Policy Studies, Heritage Foundation; Andrew J. Rotherham, Co-Director, Education Sector; and Andrew J. Coulson, Director, Center for Educational Freedom, Cato Institute.

Panel 2: Can Any Reform Survive Politics? (Or Does Politics Destroy All?)
Featuring Dick Armey, Chairman, FreedomWorks, former House Majority Leader; Neal McCluskey, Policy Analyst, Center for Educational Freedom, Cato Institute; and Susan B. Neuman, Professor in Educational Studies, University of Michigan, Former Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.

In addition to the panel discussions, Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) is scheduled to talk briefly about legislation designed to give control of education back to the states.

As Congress takes up the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, ideas abound about whether the law should be tweaked, overhauled, or discarded altogether. At a special half-day conference, panelists of different political and educational stripes will debate the major proposals for NCLB’s future, as well as a basic question about the prospects of any federal education blueprint: Can even the best-laid plan survive the hazards of the political and regulatory process?