[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 131 (Thursday, September 6, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H10164]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            EDUCATION POLICY

  (Mr. WALBERG asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, No Child Left Behind originally sought to 
return some education policy-making authority to the States, but in its 
current form the legislation is a massive spending bill filled with 
Federal mandates that increases the presence of Federal bureaucrats in 
our classrooms.
  Today, Michigan teachers are forced to adopt a ``teach to the test'' 
mentality and spend valuable time on paperwork instead of students.
  It has been estimated that teachers and school officials have spent 
an additional 6.7 million hours completing the cumbersome paperwork 
required by No Child Left Behind.
  As Congress considers the future of education policy in America, we 
must find a way to give our schools, communities and parents greater 
flexibility, reduce the bureaucracy in education and ensure the best 
educational opportunities are being given to our children.
  Because I believe each child's educational path should be determined 
by a child's parents and not by the Federal Government, I am an 
original cosponsor of the A-PLUS Act, an alternative education policy 
introduced this year in the House. I urge my colleagues to support this 
important legislation.

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