No Child Left Behind Overhaul -- Title I Portability

Scott, R-S.C., amendment no. 2132 to the Alexander, R-Tenn., substitute amendment, that would allow states to distribute Title I funds in a way that would follow low-income students to the schools they attend. The amendment also would include low-income students who attend private school, with the per-pupil funding for those students to be distributed by local educational agencies to their parents, to be used to pay tuition and fees at the student's private school. The Alexander substitute would reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the law that authorizes federal spending on kindergarten through high school. It would let states decide how to judge schools' success and wouldn't require any type of teacher evaluation. It would require states to continue testing students annually, but would leave it up to states to decide what weight those scores have when rating schools.

Note: A 60 vote threshold was required for adoption of the amendment, pursuant to a unanimous consent agreement.