Obama to GOP: Will fight on education

WASHINGTON — Pointing to increased high school graduation rates, President Barack Obama said Monday that he’s prepared to fight with Republicans for school funding and his education priorities rather than risk going backward.

The president said he hopes that Republican lawmakers focus on educating every child and not shifting money away from needy districts. He’s also calling for a focus on low-performing schools, annual assessments and investments in special education and English-language learners.

Obama said at a White House meeting with urban-school leaders that if the Republican budget doesn’t reflect those priorities, they will have “a major debate.”

The Education Department said Monday that high school graduation rates for all racial groups have increased, according to data from the 2012-2013 school year. But black, Hispanic, and American Indian students still significantly lag behind their white and Asian/Pacific Islander counterparts.

The No Child Left Behind law, signed in 2002, is credited with shining a light on the performance of poor, minority-group, disabled and non-English speaking students but also led to complaints from both Republicans and Democrats that the requirements were unworkable.

Lawmakers are working on a bipartisan effort to update the law.