With five months remaining in the 110th Congress, key political players are poised to use the summer recess to put the final touches on legislation to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act.

Rep. Howard McKeon, R-California, the ranking Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, and Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-MA, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, have each announced their intention to introduce legislation this September.

Legislation backed by the National School Boards Association, H.R. 648, has been filed in the House since January. Education advocacy groups have been pushing for progress on the issue, hoping to settle on reforms before the election-year politics stall action.

If Congress can’t agree on reforms this year, political analysts say it may hinder the Bush Administration’s chances of securing reauthorization of the President’s top domestic policy priority.