[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 42 (Wednesday, March 17, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S2876]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 EDUCATION FLEXIBILITY PARTNERSHIP ACT

 Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, as the primary sponsor of S. 280, 
the Education Flexibility Partnership Act (Ed-Flex), I am pleased that 
the Senate passed this legislation by a 98 to 1 margin on March 11, 
1999. In addition, the House of Representatives passed the companion 
bill on the same day by a vote of 330 to 90. This bicameral, bipartisan 
support for Ed-Flex is a positive first step for education reform in 
the 106th Congress.
  This first step in education reform is desperately needed. Critics of 
our education system note that the federal government provides only 
seven percent of funds in education, but requires 50 percent of the 
paperwork. In addition, more often than not, well-intentioned federal 
programs come with stringent regulations and directives which tie the 
hands of school officials and teachers. As the Chairman of the Senate 
Budget Committee's Task Force on Education, I have heard the pleas from 
states and localities for greater flexibility in administering federal 
programs in exchange for increased accountability. This theme has been 
echoed as I travel around Tennessee visiting schools and holding 
education roundtable discussions for teachers, principals, 
superintendents, parents, school board officials, and other interested 
members of the community.
  The First Ed-Flex bill passed by Congress will provide greater 
flexibility coupled with increased accountability for our nation's 
schools. Specifically, this bill will allow every state the option to 
participate in the enormously popular Ed-Flex demonstration program 
already in place in twelve states. The twelve state currently 
participating in the program are: Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, 
Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, and 
Vermont.
  Ed-Flex frees responsible states from the burden of unnecessary, 
time-consuming federal regulations, so long as states are complying 
with certain core federal principles, such as civil rights, and so long 
as states are making progress toward improving their students' 
performance. Under 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 that interfere with 
state and local efforts to improve education. To be eligible, a state 
must waive its own regulations on schools. It must also hold schools 
accountable for results by setting academic standards and measuring 
student performance. Using this accountability system, states are 
required to monitor the performance of local education agencies and 
schools that have received waivers, including the performance of 
students affected by these waivers. At any time, either the state or 
the Secretary of Education can terminate a waiver.
  The twelve states that currently participate in Ed-Flex have used 
this flexibility to allow school districts innovate and better use 
federal resources to improve students outcomes. For instance, the 
Phelps Luck Elementary School in Howard County, Maryland used its 
waiver to provide one-on-one tutoring for reading students who have the 
greatest need in grade 1-5. They also used their waiver to lower the 
average student/teacher ratio in mathematics and reading form 25/1 to 
12/1.
  A Texas statewide waiver to allow more flexible use of Federal 
teacher training funds has allowed districts to better direct 
professional development dollars to those areas where they are needed 
most. In Massachusetts, a school that had been eligible for Title I 
funding in the past was ineligible for the 1997-98 school year, but was 
expected to be eligible again for 1998-99. Massachusetts was able to 
use Ed-Flex waiver authority to give the school a one-year waiver and 
assure continuity of service rather than disrupt services for a year.
  Support for Ed-Flex is broad. The President has called for Ed-Flex 
expansion, as well as others including the Secretary of Education, the 
National Governors' Association, the Democratic Governors' Association, 
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Education Association, and 
the National School Boards Association.
  Ed-Flex is a move in the right direction. We must empower States and 
localities by giving them the flexibility they need to best combine 
Federal resources with State and local reform efforts. I am pleased 
that the 106th Congress has acted quickly on my bill to ensure that 
every State will have the opportunity to participate in this successful 
program. Ed-Flex is a common-sense, bipartisan plan that will give 
States and localities the flexibility that they need while holding them 
accountable for producing results.
  Now, the challenge for this Congress is to build on Ed-Flex's themes: 
flexibility and accountability. As we consider the Reauthorization of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act later this year, we must 
continue the push to cut red tape and remove overly-prescriptive 
Federal mandates on Federal education funding. At the same time, we 
must hold States and local schools accountable for increasing student 
achievement. Flexibility, combined with accountability, must be our 
objective. The end result of our reform effort must spark innovation--
innovation designed to provide all students a world-class 
education.

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