Kansas senator’s op-ed promotes bill to turn back Common Core

U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) recently published an op-ed in the Washington Times on Wednesday, discussing his opinions on Common Core and the effort to move accountability for the quality of education away from the federal government and back to local school boards and parents.

“The United States Senate will soon begin debate on a bill to get the federal government out of our local classrooms by permanently ending Washington’s mandate on Common Core,” Roberts said. “Common Core started out as a state-led effort to create high standards that states would voluntarily adopt, but the Obama administration had different ideas. It disrupted that process by forcing states to adopt the standards, first through Race to the Top grants, and next through waivers. Waivers from onerous provisions of No Child Left Behind are granted only to states that agree to implement the White House’s preferred education policies — Common Core.”

Roberts said the Senate’s pending bill, the Every Child Achieves Act, is written to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. The senator said the language he included in the bill would essentially end the Obama administration’s use of waivers to force or incentivize states to adopt Common Core standards.

“It will end the Obama administration’s — and, for that matter, any future administration’s — ability to use any tool of coercion to force states to adopt Common Core, whether it’s Common Core by another name or some new set of standards, period,” Roberts said.

Roberts showed evidence that both Republicans and Democrats are in support of the Every Child Achieves Act, which the Senate Education Committee advanced on a unanimous vote. Both parties agreed to return control of academic standards back to individual states. In doing so, the legislation would shift that responsibility to states, local school districts, teachers and parents.

“Why are Democrats and Republicans united on this?” Roberts said. “Because while we all agree that setting high standards for our schools, our teachers and our children is the right thing to do, we also believe standards should be decided in states, by our state leaders, teachers, school boards and parents. There should not be bribes or mandates from Washington.”

Under the bill, the federal government would be unable to intervene in a state’s education standards, curricula and assessments through the use of incentives, financial support, mandates, grants, waivers or any other form of manipulation.

“Parents should have a local and direct chain of accountability when it comes to something as important as the education of their children,” Roberts said. “When there is a problem, parents must be able to appeal directly to local lawmakers and school boards to make their opinions known and get clear, immediate results. These local officials will be held accountable for their decisions, unlike those in the federal bureaucracy.”