Federal

Photo credit: U.S. Dept. of Education

The U.S. Departments of Education and Justice announced Monday the completion of a tool kit designed to help ensure English language learners have access to a high-quality education.

By Dan MericaManchester, New Hampshire (CNN) – Bernie Sanders pushed back Saturday against an assertion from Hillary Clinton that her education plan is “more comprehensive” than his, another sign of the tightening contest between the two leading Democratic presidential hopefuls.Read the rest of the story at CNN Politics.

Photo credit: Medill DC By Alyson KleinPerhaps no single K-12 policy is more closely associated with the Obama administration than teacher evaluations tied to student test scores, which the president and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan have championed, first through Race to the Top, and then through No Child Left Behind Act waivers.Read the rest of the story at Education Week.

Photo Credit: Paul Stevensby Michelle Riddles, Associated PressCARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio says the U.S. doesn’t need a federal Education Department, arguing that its recommendations to state and local governments often turn into mandates tied to money. Read the rest of the story at U.S.News.

Photo Credit: Theresa Thompsonby Gerard RobinsonHere’s what education activist Campbell Brown should ask the 2016 GOP hopefuls.Read the rest of the story at U.S. News and World Report.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush again defended his support of the Common Core education standards, which are deeply unpopular within the Republican Party.Read the rest of the story at CBS News.

Photo Credit: Medill DCby Nick AndersonEducation Secretary Arne Duncan delivered this week a dual message on accountability in higher education. He said the Obama administration aims to crack down on schools that fail to deliver what they promise to students, but he lamented that politics and bureaucracy in the system of oversight often stymies efforts to get tough on dismal school performance.Read the rest of the story at The Washington Post.

Both houses of Congress have now passed versions of the bill that would update the largest federal education law, known as No Child Left Behind, for the first time since 2001. They are big, meaty and complicated, and now they have to be reconciled into one messy Dagwood sandwich of a bill to go to the president. Read the rest of the story on NPREd.