Student Success Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Chairman, there were a lot of problems in No Child
Left Behind, and one of them, of course, is this top-down idea that the
Federal Government can run education.

This is a relatively simple amendment. We are shrinking the time that
this bill, which is a very hard-worked on bill, shrinking the time
before we revisit this issue from 6 years back down to 3 years, from
2021 back down to 2018.

One of the reasons why I think our forefathers did not want Federal
Government involved in a lot of things is we move so slowly. Back home,
my local superintendent can change policy daily. My local school boards
meet every other week. My State superintendent can change policy daily
and probably changes rules every few months.

We knew there were big problems with No Child Left Behind back in
2002-2003. Eleven or 12 or 13 years later after the problems were very
apparent, we still have not amended that bill, which is why this is a
good amendment right now.

As hard-worked on as this bill is, we know a year from now, a year
and a half from now, people will say: Oh, I wish you would have done
that, I wish you would have done something else.

I don't think it is too much to ask that we revisit this legislation
3 years from now, well after our local school boards or well after our
local State legislators will have met many, many, many times.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Chairman, just one more time to emphasize on this
amendment, it is my experience, in many, many years dealing with local
superintendents, local school boards, very rarely are they appreciative
of people on other levels of government without that expertise in
education telling them what to do.

Right now, I live in the Campbellsport School District. They are not
appreciative when the legislature in Madison tells them how to run
their schools, and they are certainly not appreciative when the U.S.
Congress tells them how to run the schools.

I am going to vote for this bill today. I think this bill is a step
in the right direction. My guess is, if I talk to my local school
boards 6 months from now, a year from now, they will be grateful that
this bill passed, but they would like still more freedom.

I do think that the local school boards are closer to the parents,
closer to the children, and will do a better job of managing those
schools than we will.

That is why I have introduced this amendment. I mean, maybe 3 years
from now, we are going to go back home to our school districts, and
they will say: Oh, my goodness, I wish you would have prescribed more
or ordered us around more.

I don't think that is going to happen. I think what is going to
happen is 3 years from today, when we look at this again, the local
school districts are one more time going to say: Hey, back there in
2015, when you paused this bill, I am glad you passed that bill, but
please give us still more freedom.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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