Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) announced today that the House-Senate conference committee reached an agreement on legislation to overhaul the No Child Left Behind Act, and included amendments he introduced to strengthen and improve childhood education. The conference committee, which was tasked with reaching a compromise between the Senate-passed Every Child Achieves Act and the House-passed Student Success Act, has referred its proposal to the House and the Senate to receive a vote before it is sent to President Obama to be signed into law.
"I'm pleased the House-Senate conference committee reached an agreement swiftly and included provisions I authored that will not only benefit students in Colorado, but throughout the country," said Gardner. "A bipartisan compromise, the legislation represents a significant step forward toward removing Congress from the classroom and updating federal education policy to refocus on students, the very people it was designed to help succeed. I look forward to this legislation moving through the legislative process, and I applaud the conference committee for producing an agreement that members from both sides of the aisle can support. It's time we return responsibility to the states and empower those who know how to best ensure student's thrive in the classroom: school districts, parents, teachers, and students."