Providing for Congressional Disapproval of Rule Submitted by Department of Education Relating to Teacher Preparation Issues

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.J. Res. 58. The purpose of the resolution under consideration is simple: reining in the Federal role in education and protecting State and local control promised to students, parents, and education leaders.

Under the Higher Education Act, teacher preparation programs are required to provide certain information to State leaders to help determine the effectiveness of those programs. The State then submits an annual report card to the Department of Education that highlights the quality of their teacher preparation programs.

Additionally, the Higher Education Act provides TEACH Grants to high-achieving students who commit to teaching math, science, reading, or a foreign language at high-needs schools. To ensure taxpayer dollars are being used responsibly, the law requires that grant recipients attend an institution that provides high-quality teacher preparation and professional development services.

In 2012, the Obama administration began a rulemaking process to develop Federal criteria for State teacher preparation report cards.

For the first time, and without congressional authorization, the rule that came out of that process tied eligibility for TEACH Grants to the State's teacher preparation report card. That flawed and controversial rule is the reason we are here today.

We all agree that accountability is important, particularly when it comes to ensuring our students receive the high-quality education they deserve. However, it is also important that State and local leaders have the flexibility they need to make decisions that affect the schools and programs in their local communities.

Teacher preparation should be addressed through reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, not unilaterally by executive fiat. That is exactly what the Obama administration did by forcing its one-size-fits- all approach to education on teacher preparation programs. The rule requires States to track new teachers across three performance levels: student learning outcomes, employment outcomes, and employer surveys.

In doing so, it essentially creates a Federal mandate for teacher evaluations that Congress explicitly rejected with the Every Student Succeeds Act. The regulation assumes the Federal Government knows better than local education leaders when it comes to what makes an effective teacher. And to make matters worse, it will also result in fewer teachers opting to teach students in low-income neighborhoods and schools.

Teachers play an important role in helping students learn and succeed both in and out of the classroom. Unfortunately, as it did so often, the Obama administration overreached and took a flawed approach to preparing teachers to meet the needs of their students. The teacher preparation rule blatantly ignores the principles guiding recent bipartisan education reforms and will make it more difficult for State and local leaders to help ensure teachers are ready to succeed.

The resolution under consideration, H.J. Res. 58, will block the implementation of this misguided policy and protect State and local control over decisions affecting their teachers and students. The Federal Government has played too large a role in education for far too long. I urge my colleagues to vote in support of this resolution and help rein in the Federal Government's role in education.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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I need to explain what we are doing here. We are not changing the report card that schools have that teacher preparation programs have to provide.

This rule says that if a school doesn't score well on its report card then students in that program can't get TEACH grants, which tries to focus on getting teachers from teacher programs into challenging schools. So what happens is, if you are an outstanding student and you are trapped in a school, let's say, because where you can afford to go is not performing well, then based on your school not performing well, not on the merit of that future teacher, they are not allowed to get a TEACH grant. That is what we are trying to prevent here.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Republicans and Democrats on both sides of the aisle have worked hard in recent years, particularly in the ESSA that we passed to make sure that we have local control of education, the idea that reforms that State and education local leaders know best. I think the same is true for teachers.

It is vitally important that we have teachers that are prepared to succeed. We want the best and brightest in the classroom that help ensure our students receive the quality education they deserve.

This resolution will put an end to this rule that will have negative consequences, I believe, for teachers and students; but it will allow us to address teacher preparation responsibly. Article I of the Constitution gives the legislative powers to Congress. So we don't just need to say: There's a new administration in town, let them fix it.

What we need to say is that it is Congress' job, through working together, to pass the law and reauthorize higher education that will ensure that we have quality teachers in the classroom teaching our children.

So I urge my colleagues to put a stop to this rule and vote ``yes'' on H.J. Res. 58.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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