U.S. Rep. Billy Long (R-MO) joined fellow members of the House in voting to pass the Student Success Act on Wednesday, an education reform bill designed to reduce the current heavy federal influence in education policy.
The legislation, which would shift more decision-making power regarding curriculum and testing to state and local education programs, passed via a tight vote of 218-213.
“Federal funds have poured into the education system over the decades with minimal result,” Long, a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, said. “The federal takeover in educational programs has only led us to have 38 percent of high school seniors reading at grade level. Top-down, single-size performance standards and assessments have only hurt students everywhere. After all, every school district across the Ozarks and the country has different needs.”
Long said the Student Success Act will allow states to form their own education standards and end the federal Adequate Yearly Progress program used to influence public school curriculum. It also “gives states and school districts the power to establish performance standards and publish the results for parents to hold schools accountable,” he said.
Essentially, the Student Success Act will eliminate 69 federal education grant programs, replacing them with a new Local Academic Flexible Grant program. Under the new system, program funding would be divided among the states, which will design and develop competitive grant opportunities specific to the needs within a particular state, awarding the funds as it deems fit. It also would prohibit the U.S. Department of Education from mandating the use of Common Core standards as a contingency for receiving any grant funds.
“Our students benefit most when our education system works from the bottom-up,” Long concluded. “The Student Success Act places more control over academic achievement in the hands of states and local schools and out of the federal government’s hands. This bill is an A+ for our children and a bright, opportunity-filled future.”