Every Child Achieves Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, I rise to speak about my amendment No. 2110.

As a fifth-generation Montanan and a product of Montana public schools and because my wife is an elementary school teacher and I am the father of four children, and one of my children has a degree in elementary education as well, I truly understand how important a first-rate education is to our kids' future.

As I meet with parents and educators across Montana, they frequently share concerns about the one-size-fits-all student performance and teacher qualification metrics that currently dictate Federal funding as part of No Child Left Behind. While well-intended, many of these metrics have proven difficult for schools--and particularly schools in rural areas--to achieve. The Federal funding tied to these policies has all too often forced States and school districts to adopt policies that may not best fit the students' and communities' unique needs.

As the Senate debates the Every Child Achieves Act to reform our Nation's education policies, one of my priorities will be fighting to increase local control over academic standards and education policies and working to push back against burdensome Federal regulations that often place our schools in a straitjacket.

For example, the U.S. Department of Education has incentivized States to adopt common core standards by offering exemptions from No Child Left Behind regulations and making extra Federal education funds accessible through programs such as Race to the Top to States that adopt Common Core. Like many Montanans, I am deeply concerned that the Federal Government's obvious efforts to back States into adopting such programs is an inappropriate interference in educational policy decisions that should be made by States, parents, teachers, and local school boards because strengthening our education system is vitally important to our country's future.

If we are serious about wanting to make future generations as fortunate as ours, it is critical that we prepare our children to excel in a globally competitive economy. Our children should receive a well-rounded education that focuses on core subjects, such as reading, writing, science, and math, as well as technical and vocational disciplines and training in the arts.

A wealth of social data informs us that individuals who do not receive a quality education are disproportionately prone to have low incomes, suffer from poverty, and land in prison. It is clear that the Federal Government's one-size-fits-none approach simply isn't working.

By increasing local control of our schools and lessening the influence of Washington bureaucrats, we can provide States with the flexibility needed to meet the unique needs of our students and the unique needs of our States as well as our communities.

Just last year, the New York Times did an assessment of the ``health and wealth'' of every county in the Nation--every county. We might expect folks living in Silicon Valley to be doing fairly well or perhaps see the suburbs of New York City thriving. What shocked me was seeing that 6 of the Nation's top 10 wealthiest counties surround Washington, DC. This sends a pretty clear message about where Washington's priorities really are.

During the recession, while millions of Americans were struggling to make ends meet amidst layoffs and economic instability, Washington, DC, thrived. The Federal Government poured millions of dollars into new Federal buildings, and salaries kept growing. The average Federal bureaucrat in the Department of Education in Washington, DC, makes $107,000 a year.

It is time we stopped building bureaucratic DC kingdoms and returned those dollars to the classrooms. That is why I am asking for support of the Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success--or A-PLUS--amendment to the Every Child Achieves Act. This measure will help expand local control of our schools and return Federal education dollars to where they belong--closer to the classroom. By shifting control back to the States, individual and effective solutions can be created to address the multitude of unique challenges facing schools across the country. Through these laboratories of democracy, Americans can watch and learn how students can benefit when innovative reforms are implemented at the local level.

My amendment would give States greater flexibility in allocating Federal education funding and ensuring academic achievement in their schools. With A-PLUS, States would be freed from Washington's unworkable teacher standards, States would be freed from Washington-knows-best performance metrics, and States would be freed from Washington's failed testing requirements. Should this amendment be adopted, States would need to adhere to all civil rights laws. They have to work toward advancing educational opportunities for disadvantaged children as well, of course.

States would be held accountable by parents and teachers, though, because a bright light would shine directly on the decisions made by State capitals and local school districts. With freedom from Federal mandates come more responsibility, more transparency, and more accountability on the issues.

It would also reduce the administrative and compliance burdens on State and local education agencies and ensure greater public transparency in student academic achievement and the use of Federal education funds.

Increasing educational opportunities in Montana and across the country isn't going to happen through Federal mandates or these one-size-fits-nobody regulations. We need to empower our States, our local school boards, our teachers, and our parents to work together to develop solutions that best fit our kids' unique needs. As a father of four--and every parent knows this--I know that each one of my children is very unique. And that is precisely what my A-PLUS amendment does.

Washington is the problem. We are ground zero. The problem is here in Washington, DC, and we have the solutions in Montana and in our States across the country.

The A-PLUS amendment goes a long way toward returning the responsibility for our kids' education closer to home and reduces the influence of the Federal Government over our classrooms.

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