[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 19, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S328]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        THE ``ED-FLEX'' PROGRAM

  Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, I rise today to urge my colleagues' 
support for important legislation introduced by Senator Frist and 
Wyden, the Education Flexibility Act. This legislation would expand the 
popular ``Ed-Flex'' program to all 50 states. Currently, 12 states, 
including Michigan, participate in the program.
  Through the ``Ed-Flex'' program, the Department of Education 
delegates to the states its power to grant individual school districts 
temporary waivers from certain federal requirements if those 
requirements interfere with state and local efforts to improve 
education. To be eligible, a State must be able to waive its own 
regulations on schools. The State must hold schools accountable for 
results by setting academic standards and measuring student 
performance, requiring schools to publish school report cards, and 
intervening in low performance schools. This program does a great deal 
to reduce the regulatory burden for states trying to improve the 
education it provides to its citizens.
  This program has been a tremendous success in Michigan. The first 
benefit came to Michigan in simply applying for the program. It was 
during this process that the Governor's office realized it did not meet 
the two criteria necessary to apply for the waiver because the state 
could not waive its own regulations. As a result, the Governor's office 
worked with the State legislature and State Board of Education to 
prepare and obtain this authority. Another benefit of the ``Ed-Flex'' 
program came when the state put in place the Waiver Referent Group. 
This group is made up of representatives from the Department, local and 
intermediate school districts, private schools, parent organizations, 
advisory and professional groups, and business/community members. 
Through this collaboration, the State will receive input on potential 
regulations that may help reduce barriers to reform from the people 
most closely associated with the regulations that are hindering their 
ability to achieve real and lasting reform.
  I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this important legislation. 
I am confident that the ``Ed-Flex'' program will be as valuable of a 
tool to education reform for other states as it has been to Michigan's 
education reform efforts.

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