Jones Votes Against No Child Left Behind Extension

Statement

Last night, Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) voted against the Conference Report to S. 1177, Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, which extends No Child Left Behind (NCLB) programs and big-government education. The Conference Report passed 359 to 64. Congressman Jones voted against the House version of this NCLB extension, The Student Success Act, when it was considered by the House in July of this year. He also voted against NCLB when it originally passed the House in 2001 and has consistently opposed federal involvement in education.

No Child Left Behind took effect in 2002, and has cost American taxpayers billions of dollars every year. Studies have shown that NCLB has not definitively improved the quality of public education in America, including a 2013 U.S. Department of Education study on literacy which revealed that illiteracy rates in the United States have not decreased since NCLB took effect, with 19 percent of high school graduates unable to read.

"We need to get the feds out of the classroom, not expand their influence, which is exactly what this Conference Report does by doubling down on No Child Left Behind," said Congressman Jones. "In the thirteen years since No Child Left Behind took effect, has the quality of public education in the United States gotten better or worse? According to studies, No Child Left Behind has not improved the quality of public education in the United States despite the billions of dollars American taxpayers have put into NCLB programs in the past thirteen years. In my meetings with parents, teachers, students, and other stakeholders over the years, opposition to the one-size-fits-all approach to No Child Left Behind has been overwhelming. To improve education in the United States, we need to empower parents and teachers, not the feds."

Source