Political Quotes

“We have before us today an education bill that is a vast improvement over the status quo. I am proud to say it is a result of the work product between Democrats and Republicans working together to finally replace an outdated educational law with one that makes a lot more sense. It maintains the original goal of ESEA from 1965--that is, to protect the civil rights of all Americans, to ensure that no school district can sweep under the rug or deny a quality education to any student because of their ethnicity or race or income status--and it allows States and districts the flexibility to meet those needs. It allows States and districts the flexibility to do something, but not the flexibility to do nothing. That is the fine line that Democrats and Republicans have worked together to seek and have accomplished with this bill. Beginning in 2011, the Department of Education embarked on an unprecedented process of granting annual ESEA waivers to States and some districts. Now, you have heard that waiver process blasted from the other side. Absent that waiver process, under the formula of adequate yearly progress, nearly every State and district would have been labeled a failure. So I hope that my colleagues are grateful for a waiver process that has succeeded in granting waivers not only to my home State of Colorado, but to most States and districts across the country. Now, of course, the waiver process opened up a Pandora's box.…”