The Hill News

My focus in Congress continues to be on creating jobs and growing our economy. Ultimately, doing this starts with creating an education system that gives Americans the tools they need to get jobs in the global economy.
 
Improving our nation’s education system is critical to securing a successful future for our children and grandchildren. Last week, the House Education and the Workforce Committee, of which I am a member, began considering changes to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law for the first time in over a decade. H.R. 3938, the Student Success Act, and H.R. 3990, the Encouraging Innovation and Effective Teachers Act, will raise the standard in public education, return crucial decision-making authority to the states, and ensure that the unique needs of every student are being met.
 
Since NCLB was signed into law 10 years ago, Tennessee and its educators have done their best to provide a quality education to all students. While NCLB addresse! d some shortcomings in the education system, it opened up a whole new set of problems that simply haven’t been addressed. On February 9, 2012, Tennessee was granted a waiver providing greater state and local flexibility from standards within NCLB. While this waiver will help Tennessee’s education system in the short-term, I am concerned that â€" rather than working with Congress to fix the problems in our education system permanently â€" the administration is trying to have states pass their agenda through the backdoor.

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