Parents play a critical role in helping to ensure their children receive a quality education. Unfortunately, under current federal law, teachers and state and local education leaders are bound by what Washington wants, not by what parents know their children need. The House-Senate proposal to replace No Child Left Behind rejects the Washington-knows-best approach to education and empowers those wh... Read more »
Under No Child Left Behind, federal bureaucrats exercise decision-making power that once rested with states and school districts. Today, Washington controls how states hold schools accountable, how schools hire classroom teachers, and how school districts spend taxpayer dollars. States looking for relief from the federal government’s onerous requirements were greeted with new rules set by the Obam... Read more »
Washington’s role in education is at an all-time high. Today, the Department of Education: Operates more than 80 programs tied to the nation’s classrooms – the majority of which are ineffective, duplicative, and unnecessary; Controls how states and school districts gauge student achievement, improve underperforming schools, spend limited taxpayer dollars, and hire and fire teachers; and Coerces st... Read more »
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC): Replace No Child Left Behind to Improve Education, Empower Parents As a child, my family’s home didn’t have electricity or running water. My parents, while dedicated and hardworking, were poor with little formal education. Fortunately, I was pushed by the right people – teachers and administrators who wouldn’t let me settle for less than my best. In the mountains of Nor... Read more »
On Wednesday, December 2 at 10:00 a.m., the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, chaired by Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN), will hold a hearing entitled, “Principles for Ensuring Retirement Advice Serves the Best Interests of Working Families and Retirees.” The hearing will take place in room 2261 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The Department of Labor has proposed a rule that will... Read more »
For almost five years, the Obama administration has set federal education policy through a controversial and convoluted conditional waiver scheme – allowing the secretary of education to impose a backdoor education agenda on states and school districts that includes Common Core, teacher evaluations based on high–stakes testing, and prescriptive school improvement plans. Fortunately, a House-Senate... Read more »
After nearly a year of legislative work, Congress is poised to replace No Child Left Behind and improve K-12 education. Both the House and Senate passed separate proposals to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act this summer, and now a bicameral conference committee has put forward a final proposal that will reduce the federal role in education, restore local control, and empower... Read more »
Common Core. When it comes to education, perhaps no two words are more controversial. What began as a state-led effort to raise student achievement, has now prompted an open revolt against federal intrusion into the nation’s schools. The administration’s controversial waiver scheme and Race to the Top program empowered the secretary of education to push on states a specific set of academic standar... Read more »
No Child Left Behind was based on good intentions, but it was also based on the flawed premise that Washington knows best what students need to excel in school. The law led to the greatest federal intrusion into K-12 classrooms and failed to provide students the quality education they need to succeed in life. Instead of working with Congress to replace the law, the Obama administration has been s... Read more »
Today bipartisan leaders on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions released the final legislative text for improving K-12 education and replacing No Child Left Behind. The final bill is being released after legislative proposals passed separately by the House and Senate in July and embodies the reforms agreed to by memb... Read more »
