A press release from Congressman Randy Hultgren:

Hultgren Supports Bill Reducing Federal Government Role in K-12 EducationRolls Back No Child Left Behind and Common Core to Empower Students, Parents, Teachers

Washington, DC — U.S. Representative Randy Hultgren (IL-14) today supported passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (S. 1177). Maintaining much of the original Student Success Act (H.R. 5) passed by the House in July 2015, the bicameral legislation replaces No Child Left Behind and empowers state and local officials by restoring their responsibility to set school curriculum and measure academic success.

“Our students are best educated by curriculum developed by the state and our communities, with parents and students central to the process. Teachers and parents in Illinois and across the country should have the ability to choose which standards and curriculum is right for their students, and how best to measure their progress,” said Rep. Hultgren. “I have made it a priority to ensure the federal government stops badgering states and local school district into accepting Common Core, which this bill helps prevent. While the final bill does not contain all of the provisions I believe are necessary to give full responsibility back to parents and educators, it is a strong step toward reversing the Department of Education’s overreach and preventing future federal transgressions against state and local control of education policy

“With federal-mandated high-risk assessments and a one-size-fits-all accountability system on the ropes, we are restoring local control over education to parents, teachers and students where it belongs.”

The Every Student Succeeds Act:

• Replaces the current national accountability scheme based on high stakes tests with state-led accountability systems, returning responsibility for measuring student and school performance to states and school districts.
• Eliminates federally-mandated high-stakes testing and empowers parents by continuing annual assessments in reading and math without the federal strings attached to the outcomes.
• Protects state and local autonomy over decisions in the classroomby placing new and unprecedented restrictions on the Secretary of Education, and blocking any agent of the federal government from coercing states into adopting Common Core or any other common standards or assessments, as well as reining in the secretary’s regulatory authority.
• Ensures parents continue to have the information they need to hold local schools accountable.
• Eliminates more than 49 ineffective, duplicative, and unnecessary programs and replaces this maze of programs with a Local Academic Flexible Grant, helping schools better support students.
• Empowers parents with more school choice options by continuing support for magnet schools and expanding charter school opportunities.
• Prohibits federal education dollars from funding abortion services.
• Strengthens existing efforts to improve student performance among targeted student populations, including English learners and homeless children. 

Rep. Hultgren continues to be a leader in the fight against federal overreach in education policy through measures such as the Common Core Standards that drastically reduce state and local power and increase federal regulation of education.