Rep. James Talarico had concerns.

The third-term legislator from Round Rock, near Austin, pointed Morath to a lesson on the Sermon on the Mount 鈥� Jesus鈥檚 instruction to 鈥渄o unto others as you would have done unto you.鈥�

The text makes only passing reference to similar messages in and , and never mentions that taught a version of the Golden Rule 600 years earlier. 

鈥淚 think it’s pretty egregious and will shock a lot of Texans,鈥� Talarico said of the curriculum.

If it seems strange that four paragraphs about an ancient text in for kindergartners arouses such passions, welcome to the latest Texas-sized controversy about Christianity in the classroom.

Talarico is not just a Democrat in a deeply red state, but a former middle school English teacher and a seminary student studying to be a Presbyterian minister. Morath, he said, agreed the new material doesn鈥檛 grant 鈥渆qual time鈥� to other religions. 鈥淚 thought that was a fundamental flaw in this curriculum. He did not.鈥�

As parents, academics and activists begin to pore over the thousands of pages the education department released, Morath鈥檚 acknowledgement sheds light on the state鈥檚 approach. 

The new curriculum is based on the increasingly popular notion of 鈥渃lassical education,鈥� which stresses the primacy of the Judeo-Christian tradition in shaping Western literature and U.S. history. As 社区黑料 first reported last week, the project won praise from conservatives and parents who want students to get more rigorous reading material. Connecting coursework to ancient texts, including the Bible, offers students a cultural vocabulary they鈥檒l need to tackle more complex assignments in middle and high school, Morath said.

He downplayed the religious material as a 鈥渟mall piece鈥� of the curriculum, and called the biblical lessons

But a review by 社区黑料 shows that biblical figures and stories are central to multiple lessons across the 62 K-5 units. The curriculum not only gives short shrift to other religions 鈥� Muhammad appears to have escaped mention, despite his role in shaping a faith practiced by half a million Texans 鈥� but scholars who have examined the material say it offers a decidedly Christian interpretation of history, particularly the story of America鈥檚 founding and civil rights struggles.  

A textual guide for a third-grade unit on recommends teachers play 鈥淪ilent Night鈥� or 鈥淎way in the Manger鈥� as they begin a lesson on the life of Jesus 鈥� from his birth and ministry to Crucifixion and Resurrection. In addition to a smattering of New Testament vocabulary (鈥渕essiah,鈥� 鈥渄isciple鈥�) students get what appears to be a factual account from Josephus, a first century historian, on Christ鈥檚 death: Jesus鈥檚 disciples reported that he 鈥渁ppeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive.鈥�

But scholars overwhelmingly the authenticity of this account, which they say was likely added by medieval clerics more than a thousand years later in an attempt to prove Christ鈥檚 deity.

鈥淭o use this as historical proof, which is exactly how it is presented in this lesson, is quite unwarranted and specious,鈥� said L. Michael White, a biblical scholar at the University of Texas-Austin.

In keeping with classical education鈥檚 focus on religious allusions, that lesson sets the stage for a fifth grade study of C.S. Lewis鈥檚 The celebrated fantasy tells the story of four siblings who evacuate to the English countryside during World War II. They emerge through a magical armoire to encounter Aslan, a noble lion who later sacrifices himself for one of the children and returns from the dead. 

The teacher鈥檚 guide calls it a 鈥渂iblical allegory.鈥� 

鈥淓xplain how the Old Testament of the Bible had many prophecies about a future savior that are written as fulfilled in the New Testament by Jesus,鈥� the note says. 鈥淭here are also prophecies in the New Testament by Jesus. There are prophecies in the Bible about a future where Jesus returns to the world to make wrong right.鈥�

Those instructions alarm one prominent education figure. In the early 1990s, Sandy Kress helped develop an accountability system for Texas schools that inspired No Child Left Behind, the landmark federal education law. Kress, who is Jewish, later advised George W. Bush when the former governor became president.

鈥淚 would argue this is teaching Christianity,鈥� said Kress. His school reform days behind him, Kress now teaches and funds projects that encourage between Christians and Jews.

Morath鈥檚 staff called on Kress for guidance on the curriculum last year, and on his advice, recruited his rabbi to review earlier drafts of the material. Kress told 社区黑料 that he wants further revisions and is hopeful the state will consider them.

鈥淐an Christians do this in a way that is respectful of other faiths 鈥� without feeling the need to prove Christian doctrine? That’s the test for them,鈥� Kress said. 鈥淲hether they pass the test or not will prove whether this is an honorable exercise and whether it would be able to survive a constitutional challenge.鈥�

State officials declined to comment on their dealings with Kress and Talarico. In a statement, Morath said the biblical material in the curriculum 鈥渄oes not include religious lessons as one would find in a religious school.鈥� He added that the content reflects 鈥渧arious religious traditions鈥� and that 鈥渟tudents will learn about aspects of most major world religions.鈥�

But in response to criticism, education officials promised to add 鈥渓anguage from the First Amendment鈥� on the need for a clear separation between church and state to its lessons on American history.

The public has to comment on the proposed curriculum, which goes to the state Board of Education for approval in November. The stakes are high. If adopted, the curriculum would instantly become not only the nation鈥檚 largest classical education model, but the biggest infusion of Judeo-Christian teachings into the public education system in decades. The state is encouraging districts to adopt the material by offering incentives of up to $60 per student.

To Morath, the new curriculum offers schools their best chance at raising reading scores in a state that saw during the pandemic. In addition to phonics-based instruction in the early grades, the curriculum draws from history, science and the arts to boost students鈥� knowledge of the world. While the biblical material has drawn the most attention, there are many units that have no religious references and highlight famous Texans, like civil rights leader and Black-Native American aviator . Students learn best, Morath said, when they get early and repeated exposure to a subject.

鈥淲hen you’re designing elementary reading materials, you have to pick topics and stick with them for a few weeks,鈥� he told 社区黑料. In districts that have piloted some of the material over the past three years, 鈥渢he vocabulary complexity is night and day different鈥� than some of the more simplistic reading lessons teachers used before, he said.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush Texas on offering districts 鈥渞ich content based on the science of reading and not outdated practices,鈥� while and classical education advocates brushed off concerns that the materials have too many biblical references.  

The Texas curriculum 鈥渟trikes me as a rather mild step in the right direction,鈥� said John Peterson, a humanities professor at the University of Dallas. For years, he said, 鈥渁nything passingly biblical [has been] treated as a form of pornography, something filthy and shameful, and only to be consumed in private.鈥�

鈥榋ero reference points鈥�

Jeremy Tate knows firsthand how difficult it can be to engage students who lack a basic knowledge of the Bible. When he taught Geoffrey Chaucer鈥檚 The Canterbury Tales to 10th graders in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, they had 鈥渮ero reference points鈥� for the collection of stories told by medieval pilgrims on their way to Canterbury Cathedral.

Some students didn鈥檛 have any knowledge of the Bible, let alone 鈥渁nything about a pilgrimage, a relic or any of the language that was so much a part of the vernacular,鈥� said Tate, now CEO of the , an alternative college entrance exam.

He鈥檚 concerned, however, about the classical movement being 鈥減olitically hijacked鈥� by Republicans trying to appeal to conservative Christians.

鈥淚n some ways, it’s an impossible battle,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e’re living through a moment where very few people can think outside of political categories.鈥�

As if to underscore that point, the new curriculum arrived just four days after the state鈥檚 Republican party unified behind calling for mandatory 鈥渋nstruction on the Bible, servant leadership, and Christian self-governance.鈥� Delegates also want students to study an from Thomas Jefferson that use to argue that church-state separation is a myth. 

鈥楥ultural heritage鈥�

That approach contrasts with Morath鈥檚 more measured admonitions to those who reviewed the materials. The commissioner鈥檚 charge to a 10-member advisory board at their first meeting last summer was to 鈥渕ake sure we were on the side of literature as opposed to a worshipful treatment of that material,鈥� said Marvin McNeese Jr., an adviser who teaches at the College of Biblical Studies in Houston, an orthodox school that he said takes a 鈥渢raditional interpretation of the Bible.鈥�

The volunteers included some recognizable names, like former GOP presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson, who served as a cabinet member during the Trump administration, and Danica McKellar, and mathematician who has been outspoken about her faith.

McNeese said he spent about 40 hours between August and February reviewing lessons and doesn鈥檛 see a problem with its Judeo-Christian emphasis. 

鈥淚t’s because of our own cultural heritage,鈥� he said. 鈥淎ll the stories that I read directly explain something that students may very well come across. I mean, we have laws named Good Samaritan laws.鈥�

Under federal law, schools can teach the Bible as literature, but not in a devotional way. Mandatory Bible readings and prayer were common in many public schools until a series of in the early 1960s ended those practices. The court, however, allows voluntary prayer and under its current conservative majority has increasingly tilted in favor of religious expression. 

Conflicts about biblical material in public school have recently erupted over Bible verses in a Florida and in an that posted a New Testament verse on a hallway wall. But experts say the scope of Texas鈥檚 undertaking increases the potential for trouble.   

The Bible references in the new curriculum start in kindergarten, when children draw pictures inspired by the creation story in the Book of Genesis. By fifth grade, students studying poetry ponder what King David meant in Psalm 23 when he wrote, 鈥淭he Lord is my shepherd.鈥� In between are familiar Bible stories about the wisdom of King Solomon, the prodigal son and Paul鈥檚 conversion to Christianity on the road to Damascus.

The Texas lessons frequently say 鈥渁ccording to the Bible鈥� or 鈥渁s the Bible explains,鈥� but Mark Chancey, a religious studies professor at Southern Methodist University, dismissed those as 鈥渕eager efforts鈥� at objectivity. 鈥淭he literalistic way they present Bible stories encourages very young children to simply take them at face value,鈥� he said. 

He pointed to a fifth grade lesson on Leonardo da Vinci鈥檚 鈥淟ast Supper鈥� in which teachers read a passage from the Book of Matthew for added context. Students, he said, are bound to be left with questions. 

“How did Jesus know someone would betray him? What does Jesus mean when [the teacher] says the bread is his body and the cup is his blood?” Chancey asked. 鈥淚s the teacher ready to explain all the different versions of Eucharistic theology found in different forms of Christianity?鈥�

Many of those teachers have probably never received training on how to discuss religion in a public school classroom, said Kate Soules, founder and director of the Religion and Education Collaborative, which focuses on how schools talk about matters of faith. Teachers might be better off focusing on the literary value of Lewis鈥檚 鈥淐hronicles of Narnia鈥� than prompting students to think Aslan, the lion, represents Jesus, she said. Teachers could 鈥渧ery quickly end up in violation of the First Amendment.鈥�

The tone and focus is a concerted departure from the curriculum Amplify, a leading publisher, offered the state in 2020 under a $19 million contract. In over 40 pages, that version gives to Christianity, Islam and Judaism. A separate unit features on Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism.

The state, however, rejected those sections, said Amplify officials, who later balked when Texas asked for additional biblical content. As 社区黑料 previously reported, the company opted not to bid on a contract for the next phase of the project. 

Experts say the current curriculum is notable not only for its emphasis on Christianity, but for what it omits. 

A first grade lesson on American independence, Chancey said, paints an idealistic picture of religious liberty by asserting different denominations 鈥渢hrived in the colonies.鈥� In reality, pilgrims were often intolerant of . 

The program devotes ample space to the evangelism of the colonists during a period of religious revival known as the Great Awakening. But 社区黑料鈥檚 review found no material on the considerable influence of thinkers from the Enlightenment, a concurrent intellectual movement that inspired the writings of early American thinkers on individual rights and church-state separation. 

鈥楤oth sides of that debate鈥�

That stained glass lens extends to the Civil Rights era. In both second and fifth grade, the text emphasizes the Christian faith of Black leaders as key to the movement to end segregation. But there鈥檚 no mention of who used the Bible to justify racism and Jim Crow laws, like Henry Lyon Jr., who that God 鈥渟tarted separation of the races.鈥�

鈥淚f you just portray that religious leaders were against segregation, that’s extremely misleading,鈥� Chancey said. 鈥淵ou had religious leaders on both sides of that debate.鈥� 

An assignment on points fifth graders to Martin Luther King Jr.鈥檚 biblical allusions, including the persecution of early Christians and Jews who refused to worship false idols. But it ignores King’s intended audience 鈥� “white moderate” preachers “who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation.” 

鈥淒r. King鈥檚 focus was the incompatibility of racial segregation with Judeo-Christian values and the Christian faith,鈥� said Raymond Pierce, president and CEO of the Southern Education Foundation, a nonprofit focused on equity. 

Pierce has a divinity degree, leads a Sunday school class and teaches political theology at Duke University. His family tree extends back through the founding of the Black Pentecostal Church in the early 1900s. 鈥淚t does not get much more fundamental than that,鈥� he quipped.

But he’s also a civil rights attorney. In reviewing excerpts from the curriculum for 社区黑料, Pierce found himself turning to to Virginia lawmakers in 1785. Madison wrote that while Christians fought for their own religious liberty, they could not 鈥渄eny an equal freedom to those whose minds have not yet yielded to the evidence which has convinced us.鈥� 

Those who support the Texas curriculum are 鈥減ushing a warped version of Judeo-Christian principles,鈥� Pierce said. 鈥淚t is quite troubling that these supporters either intentionally or naively want to bring divisive issues within the Christian Church into our public schools.鈥�   

To share tips on Texas鈥檚 proposed reading curriculum, contact Linda Jacobson at lrjacobson@proton.me.

The bill, perhaps the centerpiece of Bush鈥檚 鈥渃ompassionate conservative鈥� agenda, had sprinted through the U.S. House and Senate before hitting the summer quagmire that so often ensnares federal legislation. Administration officials hoped that a presidential swing through Florida might reawaken Washington and speed its way to passage.

It was only minutes before the activities began when Bush learned that a plane had collided with one of the World Trade Center towers. Like many, Brogan initially assumed the reports referred to a light aircraft that had wandered off-course.

But as the room filled with the singsong cadence of kids reading aloud 鈥� the activity, centered on a called The Pet Goat, had been selected to draw attention to NCLB鈥檚 literacy provisions 鈥� the atmosphere changed noticeably. White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card approached Bush to whisper the news of the second crash. And over a seven-minute interval that would be picked apart for years, the president鈥檚 focus seemed to drift between the children in front of him and the horrors unfolding in Manhattan. Brogan called the moment 鈥渆xtraordinary.鈥�

鈥淗e didn’t change his expression, but the color in his face visibly changed, especially for people who were only a few feet from him. It was crystal-clear that whatever he just heard was very disturbing.”

As the activity wound down, the president excused himself to join a call with national security leaders. After stopping to deliver brief remarks from the school鈥檚 media center, including a moment of silence for the still-uncounted victims, Bush鈥檚 entourage headed immediately to Air Force One. The advocacy tour was over. A wartime presidency had begun.

The ties linking 9/11 with NCLB were the result of a historical accident. During the 20 years that passed since that day, the U.S. government undertook generational commitments to both rid the world of fundamentalist Islamic terrorism and provide an excellent education to every American child. Begun amid a swell of bipartisan approval, both missions fell far short of their goals as the afterglow of national unity first ebbed, then extinguished altogether. And while much of the vision of NCLB is preserved in federal law, controversial requirements around school accountability have been significantly loosened; some of the law’s original architects even attribute its demise, in substantial part, to a combination of hyperpartisanship and neglect that arose as the Bush administration turned its focus to the ever-expanding War on Terror.

“This is really what 9/11 meant: People moved on to other things,鈥� said Sandy Kress, an education advisor to President Bush who helped lead the White House鈥檚 efforts to lobby for NCLB. 鈥淎fghanistan and Al Qaeda, plus the return of normal politics, that was huge. The president certainly moved on, and so did the rest of the world.鈥�

Moving at 鈥榖reakneck speed 鈥� for Washington鈥�

Kress came to Washington after the 2000 election to transform the sweeping education proposals of then-Gov. Bush鈥檚 campaign into legislation. He spent years before that as a power player in Texas politics, serving as president of the Dallas school board before receiving appointments to a series of commissions empaneled throughout the 1990s to improve the state鈥檚 schools.

At that time, Washington鈥檚 role in K-12 schools offered barely a hint of what it would later become. The principal statute governing federal interventions in education, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, had been reauthorized in 1994 as the Improving America鈥檚 Schools Act, a fairly radical revision that required states to make 鈥渁dequate yearly progress鈥� toward proficiency for all their students. But reforms were still driven overwhelmingly by a set of ambitious governors: like Roy Roemer of Colorado, Jim Hunt of North Carolina and Bush of Texas.

By the time ESEA was due for another reauthorization, leaders in both parties were settling on a single model of reform. States would set high standards, deliver the instruction necessary to help students meet them, and institute regular assessments to keep an eye on their progress.

鈥淚 think people at the federal level realized they couldn’t get away any longer with simply saying, ‘America’s children aren’t learning enough, but just keep doing what you’re doing,’鈥� said Brogan, who was elected as Florida鈥檚 commissioner of schools in 1994 and would go on to lead the state university systems of both Florida and Pennsylvania before serving as assistant secretary of education under president Donald Trump. 鈥淲e had to come up with some new ideas…and at least spell out with clarity what kinds of things children were expected to master with each of the passing grade levels.”

That bipartisan convergence was reflected in placed on education reform by the campaigns of both Bush and Democrat Al Gore during the 2000 presidential election, argued Tom Loveless, former director of the Brookings Institution鈥檚 Brown Center on Education Policy. Bush, whose own package of reforms in Texas had won the admiration of even some Democrats in Congress 鈥� including California Rep. George Miller, an avowed liberal serving on the House Education and Workforce Committee 鈥� was only too happy to break with prevailing orthodoxy in order to build his brand as a different kind of Republican. That included moving away from the party鈥檚 oft-stated commitment to abolish the federal Department of Education.

鈥淏ush simply jettisoned that,鈥� Loveless said. 鈥淗e dropped it completely 鈥� it was in the ’96 platform, but it was not in the 2000 platform because the Bush people wouldn’t allow it in.”

“That whole sweet thing that was put together in the 鈥�80s and came together in various states and then saw this incredible peak in Washington in 2001 鈥� all of that largely fell apart because of 9/11, and the failure of everyone on all sides to hold it together in the wake of 9/11.”
鈥擲andy Kress, education advisor to former President George W. Bush.

Bush began setting a course for a major new education law almost as soon as the Supreme Court handed him the presidency, meeting at the White House in January with Miller, Sen. Ted Kennedy, and future Republican House Speaker John Boehner. , as the proposal soon became known, passed through both chambers even though it was loaded with tough language on equity and accountability. Under the new law, states would be required to test all students between grades 3-8, separate the data by class and ethnicity, and publish detailed school report cards based on the results. Billions of dollars in new federal funding would be allocated to support improvement efforts.

Margaret Spellings 鈥� a senior Bush advisor whom he would later appoint as U.S. secretary of education 鈥� said she didn鈥檛 fully appreciate at the time how quickly the initiative came together.

“I was a relative newcomer [to national politics], and little did I know that this was all happening at breakneck speed for Washington,鈥� she said. 鈥淧articularly when we fast-forward 20 years, it really is amazing that this mammoth piece of policy, the major elements of which stand to this day, got done that fast.”

But the process stalled in conference, a lengthy process intended to iron out the differences between House and Senate versions. As the summer dragged on, dozens of conferees worked through a torturous debate over how to define adequate yearly progress, then left Washington for August recess. The economy was in recession, and the president鈥檚 approval ratings were ticking downward. Eager to return permanently to Texas, Kress began to worry how long his sojourn in the capital would last.

“By the end of the summer, things were not so rosy,鈥� he recalled. 鈥淲e were thinking about trying to rev it up and get going again, and that’s how that Florida trip was planned.鈥�

Reinvigorating bipartisanship

At around 8:15 a.m. on September 11, Kress was in the president鈥檚 suite at Sarasota鈥檚 Colony Beach and Tennis resort, presenting him with talking points and a visual aid 鈥� a chart showing America鈥檚 education expenditures growing over time, plotted against stagnant national test scores 鈥� for what he hoped would be a news-making speech at Booker Elementary.

On campus, Kress skipped the classroom visit to brief reporters before the president took the stage. Instead, he watched with them as a television at the school鈥檚 media center broadcast live footage of United Airlines Flight 175 slamming into the World Trade Center鈥檚 South Tower. As the Secret Service moved hurriedly to coordinate the group鈥檚 departure, the stagecraft morphed from political salesmanship to an emergency speech.

鈥淣ow we’re getting instructions: ‘You are to come with me and stand right here, and the president’s going to give some remarks. First thing, take down the chart’ 鈥� I did that 鈥� ‘and then stand right here. And when the president says his last words, he will go, and you’ll be right on him, and you’re to get in the car.’ It was all solemn and lockstep.鈥�

From the Sarasota airport, Air Force One sped to Louisiana鈥檚 Barksdale Air Force Base (鈥淭he plane took off faster than I’d ever lifted off on a plane, and got higher than I’d ever been on a plane,鈥� Kress noted.) There it shed most of its passengers while Bush, still considered a potential target, delivered before departing to another location with his key political and security staffers. With virtually every airplane in the country grounded, Kress and his companions only arrived back in Washington that evening, in time to see the smoking wreckage of the Pentagon attack.

Along with his fears for the country, and intermittently his own safety, he couldn鈥檛 help worrying about the fate of the historic law he鈥檇 spent most of the year negotiating. Would the massive loss of life, to say nothing of the inevitable military action that would follow, leave room for a huge, expensive law overhauling K-12 schools?

As it turned out, he would later reflect, the collective outrage provoked by the attacks proved vastly more effective at pushing NCLB to the finish line than any messaging event could have. Congress would soon be occupied with authorizing the use of force in Afghanistan and drafting the USA Patriot Act, but both Democrats and Republicans also sought the chance to pass a major piece of domestic legislation and show that the nation鈥檚 business was still underway.

鈥�9/11 probably reinvigorates bipartisanship for a bit,鈥� said Andrew Rudalevige, a political scientist at Bowdoin College on the politics of NCLB. 鈥淎nd there was an idea that we have to show, as a country, that we can make progress on things other than terrorism and war: 鈥楾his is something we’ve already gotten most of the way through, and we should do it.鈥�”

Before the year was out, overwhelming majorities in both the House and Senate voted to accept the version of the bill that emerged from the conference committee. On January 8, 2002, Bush signed it, flanked by its congressional stewards, at an Ohio school located in Boehner鈥檚 district. The group then proceeded to Kennedy鈥檚 home state of Massachusetts for a celebration at the famed exam school Boston Latin. Only time constraints prevented them from flying to Miller鈥檚 California stomping grounds, Kress said.

In retrospect, No Child Left Behind was likely too far down the tracks to be derailed by events. But, as Spellings argued, the rush of purpose and unity following 9/11 put 鈥渁 rocket booster鈥� under it; moreover, national attention was significantly diverted from the last months of negotiations, which may have made final concessions go down smoother.

鈥淭hey were trying to hold that coalition together without offending the far left or far right,鈥� Loveless said 鈥� a towering task, given that teachers disliked the new testing requirements and conservatives resented losing out on a longed-for federal voucher program. 鈥淏ush really wanted a bipartisan bill, and I think the focus on foreign policy allowed them to do whatever they needed to do in conference and get the bill out.”

A short honeymoon

American flags were still flying from windows, and the renewed sense of national assurance only beginning to waver, when skepticism of NCLB began festering in school districts and state capitals.

Conflict arose almost immediately over new money. Under the law, total federal funding for K-12 schools between 2000 and 2003. But for schools now awakening to the threat of sanctions (including governance changes like the mass replacement of staff or restructuring as a charter school) if their students didn鈥檛 make consistent, measurable strides toward college readiness, it seemed unfair that escalating expectations on their staffs weren鈥檛 accompanied by continuing commitments of resources.

Their doubts spread soon enough to the public at large. In Brookings, Loveless noted that surveys from the law鈥檚 early years demonstrated little widespread understanding of its impact, including penalties for consistently underperforming schools. But as participants learned more of NCLB鈥檚 key provisions, they consistently came to like it less, he found.

“I think one thing NCLB was able to paper over was the fact that it did have punitive measures involved,鈥� Loveless argued. 鈥淲hen people were polled on the question, in 2001 or 2002, ‘What do you do with a failing school?,’ respondents overwhelmingly supported giving more resources to that school 鈥� not closing it or transferring teachers or anything like that.”

Combined with its 鈥渦topianism鈥� 鈥� the law put forward the aspiration that every student in the country would reach proficiency in math and reading by 2014, a starry-eyed notion that later became a punchline 鈥� NCLB鈥檚 main weakness lay in its fundamental challenge to Americans鈥� sunny perceptions of schools, Loveless said.

鈥淚t’s been a mainstay in polling: People are just happy with their local schools. And parents are even happier with the schools they send their own children to. So once it became evident that those schools were also endangered by sanctions and maybe weren’t quite what they were cracked up to be, [the law] lost some popularity.鈥�

Eventually the dissatisfaction spread to Washington, where even NCLB鈥檚 supporters were increasingly bogged down in the fervid debate over whether Bush鈥檚 鈥淕lobal War on Terror鈥� should extend to Iraq. Along with industry groups like the Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable, a diverse alliance of civil rights organizations including EdTrust, La Raza, and the Urban League had pushed hard to make testing and accountability a reality in every American school; but by 2004, NAACP chairman its mandates of fostering a 鈥渄rill-and-kill curriculum.鈥�

Consistent blows were landed by none other than Kennedy, a figure as vital to NCLB鈥檚 passage as any except the president. On the second anniversary of the happy ceremony held at Boston Latin, Kennedy鈥檚 office issued giving Bush a 鈥淒-minus鈥� for rolling out his signature education reform. In an unmistakable dig at Bush鈥檚 famous photo op of the previous year, the release called it 鈥渨ay too soon for the 鈥楳ission Accomplished鈥� banner on No Child Left Behind.鈥�

For the temporary boost it delivered to American pride and purpose, Kress said, September 11 ultimately sabotaged the 鈥渘ice, short-term story鈥� of NCLB鈥檚 enactment.

鈥淧assing a bill should be a very positive event in a movement, but if you think passing a bill is the culmination of a movement, then you don’t understand politics,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat whole sweet thing that was put together in the 鈥�80s and came together in various states and then saw this incredible peak in Washington in 2001 鈥� all of that largely fell apart because of 9/11, and the failure of everyone on all sides to hold it together in the wake of 9/11.”

Though NCLB鈥檚 authors intended for the law to be reauthorized by 2007, it remained in effect for another eight years as controversy built up over its demands on states and school districts. have credited the landmark legislation with lifting student achievement and closing achievement gaps , but it has also been blamed for through an over-reliance on testing.

Those concerns contributed to the push to replace NCLB with the Every Student Succeeds Act, which offered states more latitude to design their own systems for measuring school performance. In the years since its 2015 passage, committed reformers have complained that the new law is far too slack, allowing states to potentially ignore failing schools and that reveal which students are falling behind.

Spellings credited NCLB鈥檚 supporters in Congress, industry, and the civil rights world with ensuring that many of its key principles remained in place. But she also warned that a political retreat from testing and accountability was underway, 鈥渇lying under the banner of COVID and mental health and all other manner of bullshit.鈥�

“The secret sauce 鈥� and this is what’s under threat in the states 鈥� is annual assessments, disaggregated data, and transparency,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t’s at risk.”

Rudalevige鈥檚 research as a political scientist ultimately led him to study the growing powers of the 鈥渋mperial presidency.鈥� He agreed that it became increasingly challenging for politicians to mend or improve NCLB 鈥� still less reauthorize it 鈥� once debates over the War on Terror came to 鈥渄istract attention and dissolve whatever bipartisanship was still left.鈥�.

“Could you do it if you had full presidential attention? Maybe, but Bush didn’t have that, and he didn’t have the institutional resources to make it work without that. It wasn’t the kind of thing you could put on auto-pilot.”

Lead Image: President George W. Bush was reading with a group of Florida second-graders when his chief of staff, Andrew Card, delivered the news that a second plane had hit the World Trade Center. (Paul Richards and George W. Bush Presidential Library/Getty Images) Photo illustration by Meghan Gallagher/社区黑料