Conference Report on S. 1177, Student Success Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Every Student Succeeds Act.

As a father of three children who have attended public schools, I know the importance of allowing those who know our students best to be the decision-makers.

I want to thank everybody who is involved in educating our children. My wife and I certainly appreciate those who have sacrificed so much time to take care of our children.

Since coming to Congress, I have heard from parents, teachers, school board members, and school leaders that No Child Left Behind is not producing the results our children need.

States and local school districts need flexibility to deliver a quality education to our students. This agreement does just that. It gets the Federal Government out of our classrooms and puts the decision-making back in the hands of our State and local leaders.

This agreement prevents the Secretary from legislating through executive fiat. It prohibits the Secretary from adding new requirements through regulations and from adding new requirements as a condition of approval of a State plan.

As a Member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and a conferee on this agreement, I am pleased with the determination of my colleagues in this Congress to move beyond the failed policies of No Child Left Behind. Our children deserve a quality education, and this bill is a step in the right direction.

Mr. Speaker, I do want to thank the chairman and the ranking member and those in the Senate for all their hard work. I know the staff from both sides, people that we get to work with every day who work hard for the people of this country and who have worked hard for our children. I appreciate the hard work they have done in bringing this agreement to where we are today.

I urge my colleagues to support this conference agreement.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source