Courtney Supports Long Overdue Education Reform Agreement

Statement

Congressman Joe Courtney, a member of the House Education and Workforce Committee, today voted to pass the Conference Report on S.1177, the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This four-year authorization of K-12 education is the first overhaul of the much-criticized No Child Left Behind Act, which was signed into law in 2001.

"It has been 13 long years since ESEA has been rewritten, and I am proud to support this bipartisan effort to reform and update this law," Courtney said. "The world has changed dramatically since No Child Left Behind was passed, and the needs of our children, our educators, and our workforce have evolved significantly in this time. I am particularly pleased that measure will upgrade our efforts to align K-12 education with the in-demand skills in science, technology engineering and math that is needed to keep pace with the needs of our country. This agreement also meets the needs of states, communities and educators in providing new and more flexible accountability systems. Bipartisan passage of this agreement reflects months -- and years -- of hard work dating back to my first days in Congress, and I am pleased to support it."

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