U.S. Reps. Tom Reed (R-NY) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduce legislation last week to ensure parents have the power to make decisions regarding the education of their children, and not the government, while protecting school districts’ federal funding.
The duo’s EMPOWER (Enable More Parents to Opt Out Without Endangering Resources) Act would give parents the power to opt out of annual standardized testing requirements for their kids, related to the No Child Left Behind law — such as the assessments tied to Common Core — without any financial risk to school districts.
As parents began to take advantage of the opt-out clause in No Child Left Behind, school districts had their federal funding jeopardized, putting them in difficult financial situations.
“Our school districts should not be punished because parents exercise this choice,” Reed said. “Tens of thousands of parents have already opted their children out of required public school testing, and students and teachers alike have felt the financial sting for noncompliance. It simply isn’t fair to take away the resources they need or shift the financial burden to local property taxpayers.”
“Parents need to be empowered to make the educational decisions that suit their children the best,” DeLauro said. “Testing can be a valuable diagnostic tool for identifying problems and determining how best to help children succeed, but making high-stakes tests rather than learning the centerpiece of the education system, and the one and only indicator of success or failure, is problematic.”
The legislation has received an endorsement from both the National Education Association (NEA) and the New York State Teachers Union (NYSTU).