Obama Elected to Second Term

This from Politics K-12:

President Barack Obama, who wracked up a long list of edu-accomplishments during his first term, including steering more than $100 billion to education through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and using competitive grants to spur changes to K-12 policy, has been re-elected, according to the Associated Press.

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Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who has won big praise from Democrats who favor education redesign and even some Republicans, has said he wants to stick around.

Obama in the White House and a divided Congress has meant two years of gridlock on education policy and spending, including the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The House of Representatives is likely to stay in GOP control, and the Senate is likely to remain in Democratic hands, according to the Associated Press. Will that continue over the next couple years? Time will tell.

Congress Likely to Stay Divided, Will Gridlock on K-12 Continue?

The U.S. House of Representatives is likely to stay in GOP hands and the Senate under Democratic control, according to the Associated Press. Over the past two years, that combination has meant a lot of sniping and not much action on big issues, including the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

So does two more years of a divided Congress mean two more years of gridlock on key issues? Lawmakers will get their first test soon. Even before the new Congress takes office, lawmakers must figure out a plan to head off "sequestration," a series of planned, 8.2 percent trigger cuts to nearly every federal K-12 program, including special education and money for disadvantaged students.
Earlier today, U.S. Rep. John Boehner, the Speaker of the House, said that he would see a House GOP victory as an indication that voters don't want to see tax increases, which some Democrats have called for as a way to help put the nation on firmer fiscal footing.

"The American people want solutions—and tonight, they've responded by renewing our majority," Boehner told the Republican National Committee in an election night speech. "With this vote, the American people have also made clear that there is no mandate for raising tax rate."

The divided Congress must also get to work on a lengthy list of education legislation, including renewing the ESEA, as well as the laws that govern higher education, special education, career and technical education, and workforce development. And the lawmakers have to figure out how to cope with a roughly $7 billion shortfall in the Pell Grant program, and a planned rise in student loans, which are set to double to 6.8 percent next year.

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