John B. King Jr.

We need to support teachers and educators as they raise academic expectations for all of our students.

Absolutely not. I think we know the best ideas are going to come from classrooms, schools, districts, and States.

The civil rights legacy of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is crucial to preserve and advance.

The measure of the success of our implementation of this law will be whether or not it advances both equity and excellence.

It is critical that ESSA requires that information be provided on the performance of all subgroups.

I think the conversation that will be unleashed by the Every Student Suffices Act about how we broaden the definition of 'educational excellence,' I think, creates an opportunity.

I think we have to get the balance right around assessment, and I think it is clear that in the last decade, as you look across the country, the balance has not always been right.

When you think back to 1965 when Lyndon Johnson signed the original Elementary and Secondary Education Act, it was with the intention that education would be a driver of equality, of opportunity in American society.

We have to view this law as an opportunity to advance equity.

We believe that we can within this bipartisan law provide the guardrails necessary to protect equity.

The issue of resource equity, I think, is central to the way States and districts can use the Every Student Succeeds Act to advance opportunity for students who too often have not had those opportunities.

I think in many ways the fate of our education system is bound up with how we serve our highest needs students.

Ted Cruz tonight going after Donald Trump essentially saying an issue after issue, you are not a conservative, you are not a republican and our voters should not trust you to be president.

It is a top priority for the President, for the Vice President, for the Department to ensure that we do everything possible to protect our students, male and female students, from sexual violence and sexual assault.

We know, for example, there are many high schools in this country where you cannot take chemistry and physics.

I think this new law gives us an opportunity for a reset on those conversations around teacher evaluation in particular.

I take that responsibility quite seriously to ensure that 'all' means 'all' and that this implementation of the law advances equity and excellence.

I believe that education is at the heart of the promise of equality of opportunity for all Americans.

the law is not worth the paper it's printed on unless we implement it the way Congress wrote it

We achieved the highest graduation rate we've ever had as a country--82 percent.

This committee's work on that bill is a reminder to all of us that bipartisan compromise is not just still possible; it's capable of delivering meaningful legislation and necessary changes.

I appreciate that. Certainly, the principle--I think we'd agree that the principle of maintenance of effort as a way of protecting the services that students with disabilities are receiving and ensuring that school districts meet those…

I believe education is the difference between hope and despair--between life and death, even--because it was for me.

The key, I think one of the keys of the Every Student Succeeds Act is the commitment that States and districts will work towards expectations for students that will allow them to graduate from high school ready for college and career.

I believe that educational equity and excellence must be national civil rights priorities.