Senator Lamar Alexander Representative John Kline 455 Dirksen Senate Office Building 2439 Rayburn House Office Building Washington DC 20510 Washington DC 20515

Senator Patty Murray Representative Bobby Scott 154 Russell Senate Office Building 1201 Longworth House Office Building Washington DC 20510 Washington DC 20510

November 19, 2015

Dear Member of Congress,

On behalf of AASA, The School Superintendents Association, representing more than 13,000 school system leaders across the country, I write to thank you for your continued leadership on reauthorization of No Child Left Behind (the current iteration of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act), to relay our continued strong support for seeing ESEA reauthorization completed this calendar year and to support the proposed reauthorization framework so the conference committee and Congress can vote on a comprehensive reauthorization.

We are encouraged by the bipartisan nature of the conversations and work that crafted the proposed framework and urge conference committee members and Congress to carry that momentum forward. As you prepare to vote on the conference proposal and related amendments, I write to provide our positions on the framework and selected amendments:  SUPPORT the overall framework  SUPPORT the Enzi amendment calling for a report on early childhood education;  SUPPORT the Thompson amendment calling for a Title I formula study;  SUPPORT the Thompson amendment modifying the Title I formula;  OPPOSE the Polis amendment related to Student Non Discrimination Act; and  OPPOSE the Polis-Davis amendment related to Teacher/Principal evaluation.

We remain optimistic in the strong bipartisan work already underway and strongly urge you to support this process moving forward. AASA welcomes the opportunity to see ESEA reauthorization move to completion. This reauthorization is a top legislative priority for our members, the nation’s public school superintendents and the students they serve. Thank you, again, for your continued leadership on this critical matter.

Sincerely,

Noelle M. Ellerson Associate Executive Director, Policy & Advocacy