This morning, Congress passed a rewrite to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The final measure, designated the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), comes after almost a year of negotiations and more than eight years after the body originally intended to rewrite No Child Left Behind (NCLB), which is what the law was dubbed when it was reauthorized under President George W. Bush in 2001. The measure now advances to President Obama who is expected to sign it into law tomorrow. The ESSA passed the U.S. Senate by a vote 85 to 12. Texas Senator John Cornyn (R) was among the senators voting in favor of the legislation, while Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R) released a statement saying he could not support the measure. The U.S. House of Representatives similarly passed the bill with strong, bipartisan support last week. In the lower chamber, the bill passed 359 to 64 and all but eleven members of the Texas delegation supported the bill (including nine who opposed it and two who did not vote). After passing both chambers of Congress, the ESSA now advances to President Obama’s desk for his signature. Shortly after passage in the Senate, the White House released a statement advising members of the press that the President will sign the legislation at 10:05 am CST tomorrow, Dec. 10. His remarks and signing of the act can be viewed live at whitehouse.gov/live. Watch for more information coming soon from Teach the Vote about the groundbreaking new law and how it will impact Texas laws and policies on accountability, testing, educator evaluations, teacher certification, and much more.