Congressman Blum Votes To Reduce Federal Control of K-12 Education

Press Release

Today, Congressman Rod Blum released the following statement on his vote for S. 1177, the Every Student Succeeds Act. The legislation, which sets K-12 education policy and replaces No Child Left Behind, passed with a large bipartisan majority of 359 - 64.

"This legislation represents the largest rollback of federal involvement in education in 25 years, and will better allow our local schools and parents the flexibility to implement education policies that work best for Iowa students instead of being forced to accept the mandates and requirements created by No Child Left Behind."

"Further, this bill explicitly prohibits the Federal government from coercing states to accept the Common Core standards. Individual states and local school districts will have the power to design rigorous standards that work for their students instead of being compelled to operate under one size fits all mandates like Common Core."

"I am also pleased that this legislation -- while falling short of implementing full Title 1 portability -- creates a pilot program in 50 school districts to experiment with the exciting concept of allowing funding to follow individual students. I believe strongly that school choice is a key to better public education and this is a step in the right direction."

"While I would have liked to see this legislation go even further in restoring full control to states and communities, this bill gives us a far better education system than the current status quo of federal mandates and regulations under No Child Left Behind. I look forward to continuing to advocate for even more local control and parental choice in our education system."

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