[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2846 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  2d Session
                                H. R. 2846


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                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 5, 1998

 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Labor and Human 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
   To prohibit spending Federal education funds on national testing 
               without explicit and specific legislation.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) High State and local standards in reading, mathematics, 
        and other core academic subjects are essential to the future 
        well-being of elementary and secondary education in this 
        country.
            (2) State and local control of education is the hallmark of 
        education in the United States.
            (3) Each of the 50 States already utilizes numerous tests 
        to measure student achievement, including State and 
        commercially available assessments. State assessments are based 
        primarily upon State and locally developed academic standards.
            (4) Public Law 105-78, the Labor, Health and Human Services 
        and Education Appropriations Act, 1998, ensures that Federal 
        funds may not be used to field test, pilot test, implement, 
        administer, or distribute in any way, any federally sponsored 
        national test in fiscal year 1998, requires the National 
        Academy of Sciences to conduct a study to determine whether an 
        equivalency scale can be developed that would allow existing 
        tests to be compared one to another, and permits very limited 
        test development activities in fourth grade reading and eighth 
        grade mathematics in fiscal year 1998.
            (5) There is no specific or explicit authority in current 
        Federal law authorizing the proposed federally sponsored 
        national tests in fourth grade reading and eighth grade 
        mathematics.
            (6) The decision of whether or not this country implements, 
        administers, disseminates, or otherwise has federally sponsored 
        national tests in fourth grade reading and eighth grade 
        mathematics or any other subject, will be determined primarily 
        through the normal legislative process involving Congress and 
        the respective authorizing committees.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON FEDERALLY SPONSORED TESTING.

    Part C of the General Education Provisions Act is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
``Sec. 447. Prohibition on federally sponsored testing
    ``(a) General Prohibition.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
Federal law and, except as provided in sections 305 through 311 of 
Public Law 105-78, the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education 
Appropriations Act, 1998, funds provided to the Department of Education 
or to an applicable program under this Act or any other Act, may not be 
used to develop, plan, implement (including pilot testing or field 
testing), or administer any federally sponsored national test in 
reading, mathematics, or any other subject that is not specifically and 
explicitly provided for in authorizing legislation enacted into law.
    ``(b) Exceptions.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to the Third 
International Math and Science Study or other international comparative 
assessments developed under authority of section 406(a)(6) of the 
National Education Statistics Act of 1994, and administered to only a 
representative sample of pupils in the United States and in foreign 
nations.''.

            Passed the House of Representatives February 5, 1998.

            Attest:

                                                ROBIN H. CARLE,

                                                                 Clerk.