Senator Lamar Alexander’s Take on Impeachment Reflects His Approach to ESSA
January 31, 2020
An Education Week blog post draws parallels between Senator Lamar Alexander’s “handling of the impeachment inquiry and his recent approach to education policy,” including as a key architect of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). During the former, the Senator struck a middle ground—arguing that while the President’s actions were inappropriate, they did not warrant removal by the Senate. It is similar to the middle ground that the Senator stuck to while working to pass ESSA, particularly with regard to “how to balance competing views about the standardized exams mandated by” ESSA’s predecessor. Ultimately, Senator Alexander supported preserving these tests under ESSA, “but otherwise restricting the federal government’s powers over” how those tests could be used.