Now that Republicans have taken control of the U.S. House of Representatives and bolstered their minority in the U.S. Senate, it remains to be seen if education is one area of federal policy that can avoid the partisan stalemate that many observers predict will paralyze Washington for the next two years. Republicans and Democrats famously came together to pass the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001. That law, the latest version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), placed new accountability demands on schools and authorized more federal spending on education. Its renewal has been pending since 2007. In his postelection news conference, President Barack Obama cited education as one of a handful of areas for possible cooperation. But longtime Capitol Hill insiders are divided on whether the new Congress can replicate the spirit of bipartisanship on ESEA reauthorization and other K-12 priorities. News articles that say education is an issue that can easily garner bipartisan support "are almost always written by people who don't get involved in the details of education." Many of the issues at the forefront of the discussion have never been vetted by Congress. Others stress that education policy doesn't always divide along party lines. A strengthened Republican presence in Congress is likely, meanwhile, to have its own ideas for rewriting the ESEA. Those are almost certain to include a move toward less federal involvement in education policy--nearly every Republican campaigned on greater local control in education. Some successful candidates backed by the fiscally conservative tea-party movement have even gone a step farther, calling for completely eliminating the U.S. Department of Education. They include Republican Rand Paul, who won an open Senate seat from Kentucky. It's unclear what impact the new swath of tea-party-backed members will have on the debate, and whether those members will seek or be able to find common ground with teachers' unions, which typically line up with Democrats, but also have concerns about certain federal mandates in education.