On the recordFebruary 25, 2015
I thank the chairman of the committee. Mr. Chairman, the current K-12 education system is failing our students, and State and local attempts to make it better have been hampered by an enormous Federal footprint. Parents and education leaders have lost much of their decisionmaking authority to Washington bureaucrats, and the Secretary of Education has bullied States into adopting the Obama administration's pet projects. Unsurprisingly, student achievement levels remain worrisome. Just 36 percent of eighth grade students read at grade level, and only 35 percent are proficient in math. For far too long, our schools have been governed by a top-down approach that stymies State and local efforts to meet the unique needs of their student populations. We can't continue to make the same mistakes and expect better results. America's students deserve change. Fortunately, this week, the House of Representatives has an opportunity to chart a new course with the Student Success Act, legislation that reduces the Federal footprint in the Nation's classrooms and restores control to the people who know their students best: parents, teachers, and local leaders. The Student Success Act gets Washington out of the business of running schools.…
