Providing for Further Consideration of H.R. 5, Student Success Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. ALLEN. I thank the gentlewoman from North Carolina for yielding me the time.

Mr. Speaker, we all agree that every child deserves the absolute best education, but that is really not what is at issue for those who oppose the Student Success Act. What is at issue is how that should be accomplished: Is the Federal Government better at ensuring that our children receive the proper education or do we do a better job at the local level?

I will tell you my experience with education. My father served on the Board of Education and then served in the administration of one of the fastest growing school districts in my district. My mother was also a schoolteacher. So I learned a lot about what works in education at the kitchen table every night.

Now, I can tell you this. As far as my experience is concerned, the Federal Government does not know what is best for our schools. In fact, I was in our district last week, and what I learned is that the compliance requirements required by the Federal Government for our teachers is actually not allowing our teachers the time to teach what these young people need to learn.

What we need in our school systems is innovation. That is not driven at the Federal level.

When I was in my district last week, I visited three elementary schools and a couple of high schools. What I learned was, at the local level, real innovation. We saw students that were excited, that wanted to be at school. I would like to tell you about another school. And these schools were in the most impoverished areas of our district.

One is a school there in my district that folks attend because they are told in the public school that they won't make it, that they don't have what it takes to make it in the public school. Let me tell you how innovative this school is, and it does not receive one Federal dollar. The graduates of this school and middle school are recruited to some of the best magnet, charter, and private schools in our area when they finish.

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Mr. ALLEN. Thank you.

Like I said, this school produces through innovation and teaching techniques. It changes the cycle.

What would happen to these children in the public school system under the guidance of the Federal Government for the last 50 years? Aren't they worth saving?

Parents, teachers, and local education leaders need control over education, not the Federal Government. They are best suited to nurture student success in our schools. H.R. 5 does just that. It restores local control.

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