What is "reauthorization?"

Reauthorization is a process through which an existing piece of legislation is essentially rewritten, voted upon by congress and signed into law by the president. During reauthorization, existing features of a law may be continued, modified, deleted, or supplemented by the addition of new elements. Reauthorization also entails the establishment of maximum spending ("authorization") limits for each major component of the law.

ESEA was last reauthorized in 1994 as "The Improving America’s Schools Act." While the official title of the legislation is generally designated by the current administration, the law continues to be widely identified as "ESEA."

Once the reauthorized legislation has been passed, Congress must approve accompanying appropriations legislation that commits actual dollars to the programs contained in the law. Congress could conceivably appropriate no money for a program that has been (re)authorized, or it could fund a program to its full authorization limit, or appropriate a lesser amount of funding.

The reauthorization and appropriations process often involves a complex series of political negotiations between the Executive and Legislative Branches of government and between Democratic and Republican members of Congress. The President’s veto power assures that the Executive Branch’s education proposals will receive serious consideration by members of congress.