Protecting State and Local Control Over Education
WASHINGTON, D.C.,
February 7, 2017
For years, the federal government took a Washington-knows-best approach to education, and during the past eight years, things only got worse.
For years, the federal government took a Washington-knows-best approach to education, and during the past eight years, things only got worse. The federal role grew to unprecedented levels as the Obama administration issued mandate after mandate to exert control over the nation’s K-12 classrooms, colleges, and universities. It was a one-size-fits-all strategy that failed to help students receive a high-quality education.
That’s why in recent years Republicans have worked to deliver solutions — like the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act — that reduce the federal role in education and empower parents, states, and local leaders to do what’s best for their students. That important effort continues today. Led by Reps. Todd Rokita (R-IN) and Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Congress will take action to rein in two rules that threaten to pull education in the wrong direction. Both members have introduced resolutions that together will put a stop to the Obama administration’s prescriptive accountability regulation and block the implementation of its teacher preparation regulation. Finalized during the waning days of the last administration, the rules ignore both the letter and intent of current law and will create harmful consequences for students and teachers. With members set to vote later this afternoon, state and local education leaders are speaking out to explain why the Obama rules are flawed and why this congressional effort to rein them in is so important:
If there’s one thing we’ve learned in recent years, it’s that a one-size-fits-all approach to education is flawed and misguided. With a new Congress and a new administration, House Republicans are working to keep the promises we’ve made to the American people to reduce the federal role and empower parents and state and local leaders. That’s what today’s action is all about. |