[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 26, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E767]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  FLEXIBILITY FOR CHAMPION SCHOOLS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB GOODLATTE

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 26, 2005

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer the Flexibility for 
Champion Schools Act (H.R. 1821).
  Mr. Speaker, on January 8, 2002, the President signed the No Child 
Left Behind Act, commonly referred to as N-C-L-B. I was fortunate 
enough to have served on the House Education and the Workforce 
Committee, which considered the details of this domestic policy 
proposal put forth by the President.
  The goals of N-C-L-B were and are laudable. According to the 
Department of Education, the No Child Left Behind Act gives our schools 
historic education reform based on stronger accountability for results, 
more freedom for states and communities, encourages proven educational 
methods, and creates more choices for parents.
  However, one of the major tenants of N-C-L-B, its FLEXIBILITY to 
treat different states fairly while maintaining the goals of the 
underlying legislation; has not been a priority for the Department. A 
law that was originally intended to react like a rubber-band, to bend 
but not break, has unfortunately been implemented rigidly and is 
intolerant of states like Virginia, who had previously administered 
high testing and accountability standards.
  Mr. Speaker, with any new law, especially one as sweeping as N-C-L-B, 
some hurdles will have to be overcome. To jump through these hurdles, 
my colleagues and I have attempted to work with the Department to 
resolve some of these problems. After meeting with some superintendents 
in my district, we began a dialogue to work through issues that were 
specific to states like Virginia, which already had high standards in 
place.
  We recently learned of the Secretary's intent to ``take into account 
each state's unique situation'' to implement the law. Earlier this 
year, the Virginia Department of Education proposed a series of waivers 
that would allow N-C-L-B's goals to mesh with the state's already high 
standards. Unfortunately, not less than a week after the Secretary's 
promises of flexibility, the Department rejected the first request for 
flexibility--one to waive certain assessments of limited English 
proficiency students in grades K-1 in reading and writing. Mr. Speaker, 
these are non-English speakers who are 5 years old. I do not believe 
this demonstrates the flexibility intended by members who supported N-
C-L-B.
  Without this flexibility, I believe the law is inefficient and 
duplicative for parents, teachers, students, and state education 
officers. So we have reached this point where N-C-L-B needs to have a 
mechanism to recognize the role of certain states in providing 
accountability. I urge my colleagues to support this important 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, we have stood by too long waiting for this flexibility. 
Our bill does not ``water down'' N-L-C-B provisions, or its intent. If 
certain states do not have strong accountability standards, then N-L-C-
B is directed at them. But when we have schools in Virginia passing one 
standard but failing another, sometimes based solely on the results of 
one student from one particular subgroup, we need to act.
  To address these problems, I offer with my colleagues, 
Representatives JoAnn Davis, Virgil Goode, Jim Moran, Thelma Drake and 
Rick Boucher, the Flexibility for Champion Schools Act.
  The legislation provides that a State which meets certain 
requirements shall be granted a waiver from the Adequate Yearly 
Progress (AYP) provisions of No Child Left Behind.

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