Nearly half a century ago, the U.S. Congress passed the landmark Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 during the 88th Congress. In October 2011, this committee passed a reauthorization of ESEA, preserving the reporting and transparency components of No Child Left Behind and continuing to emphasize strategies to close the achievement gaps for disadvantaged students. Unfortunately, the bill could not move beyond the committee. In the absence of a reauthorized law, President Obama and Secretary of Education Duncan have offered waivers to No Child Left Behind. Those waivers aim to address the needs of States and local districts to improve instruction and provide flexibility, to address the needs of students and the educators serving them. In this session, the committee heard from two panels. All witnesses will share their thoughts on the Department of Education's waivers and how those waivers are impacting the most disadvantaged students. Testimonies were presented by: (1) Harkin, Hon. Tom, Chairman, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, opening statement; (2) Alexander, Hon. Lamar, a U.S. Senator from the State of Tennessee, opening statement; (3) Franken, Hon. Al, a U.S. Senator from the State of Minnesota; (4) Isakson, Hon. Johnny, a U.S. Senator from the State of Georgia; (5) Sanders, Hon. Bernard, a U.S. Senator from the State of Vermont; (6) Roberts, Hon. Pat, a U.S. Senator from the State of Kansas; (7) Bennet, Hon. Michael F., a U.S. Senator from the State of Colorado; (8) Paul, Hon. Rand, a U.S. Senator from the State of Kentucky; and (9) Whitehouse, Hon. Sheldon, a U.S. Senator from the State of Rhode Island. (A) Witness--Panel I: Duncan, Hon. Arne Duncan, Secretary, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC, prepared statement. (B) Witnesses--Panel II: (1) Holliday, Terry K., Ph.D., Kentucky Commissioner of Education, Lexington, KY, prepared statement; (2) King, John B., Jr., Ed.D., New York Commissioner of Education, Slingerlands, NY, prepared statement; (3) Smarick, Andrew R., M.P.M., Partner, Bellwether Education Partners, Lawrenceville, NJ, prepared statement; and (4) Haycock, Kati, M.A., President, The Education Trust, Washington, DC, prepared statement. (C) Additional Material: Statements, articles, publications, letters, etc.: (1) Senator Baldwin; (2) Letter to Senator Baldwin from Wisconsin ASCD; (3) Response by Arne Duncan to questions of: Senator Murray, Senator Hatch, and Senator Murkowski; (4) Response by Terry K. Holliday, Ph.D. to questions of: Senator Murray, and Senator Murkowski; (5) Response by John B. King, Jr., Ed.D. to questions of: Senator Murray, and Senator Murkowski; and (6) Response to questions of Senator Murkowski by Kati Haycock, M.A.