Virginia Foxx: “Many of my Republican colleagues and I feel that the Federal Government should be out of education altogether, but that…”

“Many of my Republican colleagues and I feel that the Federal Government should be out of education altogether, but that is not what we are recommending here. Rather, H.R. 5 is a reasonable first step in empowering the people closest to the students to make decisions for those students. That being said, as long as taxpayer money is being used by the Federal Government to fund education, Congress must ensure that funding recipients are being held accountable for how they use that hardworking taxpayer money. Washington must live within its means just as families all across this country do, and limited resources require wise stewardship. Again, those closest to the students--parents, teachers, principals, local school boards, school district leaders, and States-- know what works best for their diverse student populations. The Student Success Act recognizes this by allowing States to develop their own accountability systems that incorporate three broad parameters: an annual measure of the academic achievement of all public school students against State academic standards; an annual evaluation and identification of the academic performance of each public school in the State based on student academic achievement; a school improvement plan to be implemented by school districts when schools don't meet the State standards.…”