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No Child Left Behind Rewrite Heading Toward Final Approval

A long-awaited rewrite of federal education law appears headed toward final congressional approval.
A student raises her hand to ask a question during a class.
A student raises her hand to ask a question during a class.DON EMMERT / AFP - Getty Images file

A long-awaited rewrite of federal education law appears headed toward final congressional approval.

The Senate is poised to vote Tuesday on legislation that maintains No Child Left Behind's annual testing in reading and math, but substantially reduces the federal role in education.

The bill passed the House easily last week and President Barack Obama is expected to sign it after Senate passage.

Under the legislation, the federal government would no longer be able to tell states and local districts how to judge the performance of schools and teachers or sanction under-performing schools. States would be required to intervene in schools where students aren't making progress.

The bill also would bar the Education Department from mandating or encouraging any particular set of academic standards such as Common Core.