NUT Report: Second Republican Candidate Debate

According to Education Week, no mention of education policy came up in the first Republican candidate debate; however, it came up 5 minutes before the end in last night's debate with two candidates responding and no time for the rest.

Candidate Jon Huntsman said he would not "continue to enforce NCLB" and prefers more school choice and technology in the schools.

Candidate Herman Cain believes education is a local issue:

"The federal government should get out of the business of trying to micromanage the education of our children."

Texas Governor Rick Perry who has announced his candidacy for President, but was not in the debate has declared he is opposed to Obama's K-12 initiatives. We will have to wait and see what federal education policies, if any, he favors.

What do we know? In two debates, the national concern over the effects of federal education initiatives was ignored, consistent with the education reform narrative supported by mainstream media. Silence is the political establishment status quo.