James M. Jeffords: “this week the Senate has been debating S. 280, the Education Flexibility Partnership Act of 1999. During the debate, we…”

“this week the Senate has been debating S. 280, the Education Flexibility Partnership Act of 1999. During the debate, we have heard various interpretations of Ed-Flex. I want to take a moment to remind my colleagues about the idea behind Ed-Flex. The Department of Education, under the leadership of Secretary Riley, has stated that Ed-Flex authority will help States in "removing potential regulatory barriers to the successful implementation of comprehensive school reform" efforts. Under Ed-Flex, the Department of Education gives a State some authority to grant waivers to a State, giving each State the ability to make decisions about whether some school districts may be granted waivers pertaining to certain Federal requirements. I would like to remind my colleagues that States cannot waive any Federal regulatory or statutory requirements relating to health and safety, civil rights, maintenance of effort, comparability of services, equitable participation of students and professional staff in private schools, parental participation and involvement, and distribution of funds to State or local educational agencies. It is very limited, but very helpful. I believe this week, working in a bipartisan fashion, we strengthen the accountability aspects of the Ed-Flex bill even beyond that of the bill that was passed out of committee last year by a vote of 17-1.”