During an early afternoon press conference call, EdSec Spellings reiterated her concerns about the M&M (Miller and McKeon) discussion draft and said she was sending them comments in the hopes that they were still open-minded. She called the current NCLB and its 2014 goals “righteous, proper, and do-able.” Some of the differences between the two positions seem relatively minor -- what form differentiated interventions should take, for example. Others -- multiple measures and other changes to AYP seem more problematic to Spellings.
She’s not willing to discuss how much of the changes she could implement without reauthorization, and she denied that there was any surprise or disappointment between her and the House leaders over their proposal or her remarks. However, Miller has scheduled his own conference call for 3:00 pm, so there’s obviously more to be said.