Dear Secretary Solis: We respectfully request a 90-day extension of the comment period of the Wage and Hour Division's (WHD) December 27, 2011, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (the proposed rule) entitled: Application of the Fair Labor Standards Act to Domestic Service. We request the extension in light of our concerns with the proposed rule and to provide adequate time to review related informatio... Read more »
This week, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce examined President Obama’s decision to make so-called recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), even though the Senate was not in recess. As Chairman John Kline (R-MN) noted during Tuesday’s hearing, the president’s decision means “every action taken by the board will be tainted, creating greater uncertainty for ... Read more »
In a speech at the American Enterprise Institute this morning, House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) announced two new pieces of legislation that represent the next chapter in House Republican efforts to reform K-12 education. The bills will encourage greater state and local control, support effective teachers in the classroom, and enhance flexibility. Chairman ... Read more »
U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) today introduced two pieces of legislation to restructure the federal role in elementary and secondary education. The proposals reflect the latest effort by House Republicans to enact lasting reforms to No Child Left Behind. The Student Success Act (H.R. 3989) and the Encouraging Innovation and Effective Teachers Act (H... Read more »
THE PROBLEM: The Department of Education operates approximately 80 programs tied to K-12 classrooms, each with its own set of burdensome rules and reporting requirements. According to Virginia's Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Edgar Hatrick, navigating this complicated system often results in "resources being diverted from the mission of teaching and learning." Additionally, federal ... Read more »
THE PROBLEM: The Elementary and Secondary Education Act, currently known as No Child Left Behind, has been due for reauthorization since 2007. Despite its best intentions, there is widespread agreement that the current law is no longer effectively serving students. Under No Child Left Behind’s accountability system, known as Adequate Yearly Progress, all schools that fail to meet target proficien... Read more »
Reform-minded governors in states like New Jersey, South Dakota, and Virginia are using this year’s “state of the state” speeches to call for much-needed K-12 education reform that supports effective state and local initiatives. House Education and the Workforce Committee Republicans have long recognized the progress state and local officials have had implementing innovative reforms that hold scho... Read more »
U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and Subcommittee on Workforce Protections Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) issued the following joint statement today after the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) announced a reorganization of its assessments and accountability programs: “Bureaucratic inefficiencies must never undermine the health and safety protec... Read more »
On Thursday, February 9 at 8:30 a.m., U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) will speak at the American Enterprise Institute about committee efforts to reform the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, currently known as No Child Left Behind. When No Child Left Behind was signed into law ten years ago, it fundamentally altered K-12 education in America with... Read more »
House Education and the Workforce Committee Republicans understand an effective K-12 education system cannot be created solely by Washington bureaucrats. It must include insight from state and local education officials and other experts who better understand the needs of students. Over the last year, committee Republicans have listened to parents, teachers, principals, superintendents, and other e... Read more »
