Rep. John Kline (R-MN), chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, responded to the White House’s education report released on Friday, saying that it “pretends the president’s budget proposal is the law of the land.”
“It isn’t and it never will be,” Kline continued. “In fact, in past years, the president’s budget requests have been soundly rejected by both Republicans and Democrats. The White House has entered the realm of make-believe in order to falsely suggest states will lose money, when in reality the Student Success Act maintains current K-12 education spending and even increases funding for low-income students.”
Kline’s remarks align with his support of the proposed Student Success Act (H.R. 5), legislation that is designed to reform America’s K-12 education system by returning control of curriculum and funding to the states.
A number of discrepencies exist between the Student Success Act and the White House’s report, according to Kline.
For instance, the Student Success Act authorizes funding for fiscal years 2016 through 2021 at $23.2 billion per year, the appropriated amount for the current fiscal year. Kline said overall there is no cut to education spending, despite the Obama White House calling current funding a cut.
Kline also said the Student Success Act increases funding for Title I programs serving low-income students. The program currently receives $14.4 billion. Under H.R. 5, Title I would receive $14.9 billion, an increase of nearly $500 million and more than the program received in fiscal 2012.
“The Student Success Act also offers states and families new opportunities to rescue children from failing schools,” Kline added. “Encouraging good schools to serve more low-income students is the right thing to do. Ensuring low-income children receive the best possible education and their fair share of federal assistance is the right thing to do. It is disappointing the White House and powerful special interests are rallying against these commonsense reforms.”
The Student Success Act allows states the option to restructure how Title I funds are distributed to help all low-income children receive their fair share of federal assistance. This is a state option and no state is required to adopt it, Kline insisted.
“Over the last six years, the Obama administration has dictated national education policy from the U.S. Department of Education,” Kline said. “The White House is using scare tactics and budget gimmicks to kill K-12 education reform, because they know a new law will lead to less control in the hands of Washington bureaucrats and more control in the hands of parents and education leaders. This biased report is just further proof the president is out of touch with the priorities of our country.”