Education Week - March 4, 2015 - 21

1993: As first lady of the United
States, Hillary Rodham Clinton
meets with students
participating in a youth
education program at Charles
R. Drew University of Medicine
and Science in Los Angeles.
EDUCATION POLICY RÉSUMÉ
From her days as first lady of Arkansas-and in the White House-to her tenure
as a U.S. senator and as Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton has a long
record on education and children's issues that could offer clues to what she might
emphasize should she decide to run for president in 2016.
recruiting and training principals for
high-need schools and creating a national
teacher corps.
Ms. Clinton had a policy track record
on teacher quality and academic
standards and assessments even before
she came to Washington.
In the 1980s, Bill Clinton was one of
a pack of governors who took to heart
the landmark 1983 report A Nation
at Risk. He worked to increase the
academic rigor in Arkansas' education
system, and Ms. Clinton was a
key partner in that work. She led a
statewide effort in Arkansas to bolster
course offerings.
At the time, 187 of the state's
roughly 365 districts didn't offer
chemistry, and 163 offered no foreign
language, said Don Ernst, who served
as an adviser to the governor. Ms.
Clinton traversed the state listening
to recommendations and doing extensive
outreach, he said. And later,
she championed the proposals in the
state legislature.
"I think a lot of people were thinking,
'What does she know?' " Mr. Ernst
said. But the governor and Ms. Clinton
"spent a lot of time listening and
communicating, and developed momentum,"
he said. "It was actually
pretty amazing."
And Ms. Clinton retained a belief in
rigor: In the Senate, she introduced a
measure in 2007 to create voluntary
national standards in math and science,
although the proposal never
made it over the legislative finish line.
NCLB Views
In her first year as a senator, in
2001, Ms. Clinton, along with nearly
everyone else in Congress, voted in
favor of the No Child Left Behind Act,
which was among President George
W. Bush's signature domestic-policy
achievements.
But she raised a key question backstage:
What would happen under the
law's accountability system to school
districts like Scarsdale, N.Y., where
nearly all the students were already
Academic Standards
n As first lady of Arkansas in 1983, chaired a
committee charged with recommending new standards
for the state's schools. The committee ultimately
decided to raise graduation standards and broaden
course offerings.
n As a U.S. senator in 2007, introduced legislation to
create a voluntary national curriculum and standards
for math and science education, as well as a bill to
develop demonstration programs aimed at preparing
rural students for college and the workforce.
Early-Childhood Education
n As first lady of Arkansas in the 1980s, spearheaded
an effort to bring an Israeli program known as the
Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youth to the
state. The American version of the HIPPY program,
still headquartered in Arkansas, now has a national
presence.
n As first lady of the United States in the early 1990s,
helped champion the creation of Early Head Start, which
expanded the early-childhood education program for
low-income families to children from birth to age 3.
n As a presidential candidate in 2008 campaign, pitched
a $10 billion-a-year proposal to help states expand their
early-childhood offerings, with the goal of giving all
4-year-olds access to prekindergarten programs.
n As a U.S. senator from New York in 2007, introduced
the "Ready to Learn Act," which would have added
competitive grants for prekindergarten and other earlychildhood
programs to the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act, which was up for renewal that year.
n Also introduced legislation to create a demonstration
program that would offer home-visiting services to
improve health and educational outcomes for lowincome
families.
No Child Left Behind Act
n Voted in favor of the No Child Left Behind Act as a
U.S. senator in 2001.
n Introduced a bill in 2007 to increase access to
free tutoring services required for students from
low-performing schools and to improve the quality of
tutoring providers.
n As a presidential candidate in 2008, expressed
qualms about the No Child Left Behind Act and wanted
to see more emphasis on measuring student growth.
Favored incorporating measures beyond testing into
state accountability systems, including Advanced
Placement scores, graduation rates, and the results
of formative assessments.
Teachers
n As first lady of Arkansas, helped push for a basic
skills test for educators. The policy earned her and
Gov. Bill Clinton the ire of the Arkansas Education
Association.
n As a U.S. senator, introduced bills to improve
principal recruitment and development, including
in struggling schools, and to authorize federal
appropriations for the Teach For America program.
n As a presidential candidate in 2008, called for a
significant new investment in teacher professional
development, but clashed with her chief rival for the
Democratic nomination, then-Sen. Barack Obama, on
whether it made sense to offer individual bonuses to
teachers based in part on student test scores. Instead,
Ms. Clinton called for extra pay for entire schools that are
able to improve student outcomes.
n As a presidential candidate, was endorsed by
the American Federation of Teachers. (The National
Education Association chose not to endorse either
Ms. Clinton her rival Mr. Obama.)
Other Areas of Interest
n As first lady of Arkansas, served on the state's
Rural Health Advisory Committee and on the board
of Arkansas Children's Hospital, and helped found
Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, a group
that lobbied for increased funding of child-welfare
programs.
n As a U.S. senator, introduced bills aimed at
improving outcomes for children in foster care,
promoting community service opportunities for high
school students, boosting mentoring programs
for at-risk children, combating eating disorders in
adolescents, and improving the energy efficiency of
school facilities, among other topics related to children
and schools.
SOURCES: Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton, Hillary for
President 2008, U.S. Congress, Education Week
proficient? What kind of sanctions
might they face for not meeting the
law's achievement goals?
At the time, an aide to a Democratic
member of the conference committee
that was putting the finishing
touches on the bill, was a bit surprised-after
all, the nclb law was all
about trying to improve outcomes for
poor and minority students. Why was
Sen. Clinton, who also represented
poor and diverse communities like
New York City's South Bronx, asking
about an affluent suburb?
But in retrospect, the former aide
says, the exchange showed Ms. Clinton's
political acumen-much of the
pushback to the nclb law and its
system of tests and sanctions has
stemmed from wealthy suburban
communities like Scarsdale.
On the presidential-campaign trail
in 2007, Ms. Clinton was critical of
the Bush administration's implementation
of the law.
"We can all agree that we do need
measures," she said in her New York
State United Teachers speech. "We do
need accountability. But not the kind
of accountability that the nclb law
has imposed on people. ... It's time we
had a president who cares more about
learning than about memorizing."
At the time, the idea of paring back
federally mandated tests wasn't on
the table in Washington in any serious
way, but it's become a hot issue in
the current debate over rewriting the
No Child Left Behind version of the
esea. It's an open question where Ms.
Clinton stands on that issue.
Political Outlook
It's unclear whether the next president
will get to shape a reauthorization
of the esea. Congress is now
at work on revising the law, which is
long overdue for renewal.
It might be a good thing for Ms.
Clinton, as a prospective candidate,
if the bill is over the finish line by
the time she hits the campaign
trail, said Andrew J. Rotherham,
who served in the White House during
President Bill Clinton's tenure
and is a co-founder of Bellwether
Education Partners, a consulting
organization in Washington. Should
she win the Democratic nomination,
her eventual gop opponent would be
almost sure to attack her on the federal
role in education, he noted.
"It's definitely more to her to advantage
to have this done," Mr. Rotherham
said. "For some Republicans who
want to run hard against Washington
having [a still-pending esea bill] out
there gives them one more target."
Librarian Holly Peele and Library Intern
Maya Riser-Kositsky contributed to this
article..
EDUCATION WEEK | March 4, 2015 | www.edweek.org | 21
Tina Fineberg/AP-File
Nick Ut/AP-File
http://www.edweek.org
Education Week - March 4, 2015

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