On the recordJuly 7, 2015
I rise today to discuss the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. I rise today with the understanding that I have been a Senator for just a short while--about 19 months--and with the knowledge that I stand in a body full of champions for our Nation's kids. I am proud of the conversations I have had on both sides of the political aisle and see the earnestness and hard work to ensure that America is a place where all children can thrive. I wish to give a special thanks to Senators Alexander and Murray, the chairman and ranking member of the Senate HELP Committee. They have worked tirelessly in an effort to expand educational opportunities for children, and I have no doubt that they have already made lasting contributions to the lives of our children. In addition to that, they have taken a flawed legislative reality in No Child Left Behind and have already made significant strides in improving it. It should be applauded. They have done good work. In a nation that has been overcome with test craziness, they lowered those ridiculous bars and barriers that are being put up at the local level to achieving high education. I am proud to see a bipartisan consensus forming to correct the ills of No Child Left Behind which have been foisted upon school districts all over our country and which have made the quest for educational excellence more difficult, not easier or more empowering.…
