[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 24 (Thursday, February 12, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H985-H986]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          STUDENT SUCCESS ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Alabama (Mr. Byrne) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, back in December, President Obama gave a 
major speech regarding the United States policy towards Cuba. The 
President said:

       I do not believe we can continue doing the same thing for 
     five decades and expect a different result.

  In other words, the President is saying that, when something isn't 
working, we need to try a new approach.

[[Page H986]]

  I wonder if the President and my colleagues on the other side of the 
aisle agree that we should apply that same standard to our Nation's 
education policy. As a former member of the Alabama State school board 
and as the former chancellor of postsecondary education for Alabama, I 
think it is time for a change.
  For the last 50 years, Federal education policy has failed our 
students, especially our Nation's poor students, who need us the most. 
Just look at the statistics. Only 38 percent of high school seniors can 
read at grade level, and just 26 percent are proficient in math. Survey 
after survey shows that the United States is lagging behind other 
countries in terms of education.
  We clearly need a new approach, and that is why I was proud to 
support the Student Success Act yesterday in our Committee on Education 
and the Workforce. For too long, the focus has been on the needs and 
wishes of Washington special interest groups instead of on the needs of 
those who matter the most--the students. It is time we change that. 
Immediately, two glaring flaws come to mind when looking at current 
policy:
  First, our local teachers and administrators are drowning in 
paperwork and mandates. While only 10 percent of the funding for K-12 
education comes from the Federal Government, the Government 
Accountability Office has found that 41 percent of the paperwork comes 
from the Federal level. That is unacceptable.
  Second, title 1 funds, which are intended to support our Nation's 
most vulnerable, are picking and choosing winners by forcing money to 
some schools and by not allowing that money to others. The money should 
follow the student. We shouldn't allow students to remain stuck in 
failing schools. Every child deserves a fair chance.
  Mr. Speaker, this top-down, heavyhanded Federal approach to education 
is not working, and, frankly, it is outdated. It is not the 1960s 
anymore: there are more than three television networks; we aren't all 
eating Wonder Bread; our phones aren't rotary phones tied to the wall; 
and our education system shouldn't be stuck in the sixties either. 
Instead of focusing on special interest groups, let's turn the focus to 
students, parents, and local leaders.
  While the other side is always quick to point out the D.C. special 
interest groups, which stand by their failed approach, the Student 
Success Act is supported by the National School Boards Association, 
which is made up of more than 90,000 local school board members. These 
are the very people who are actually dealing with Federal education 
policy and how it actually works on the ground every day, and they want 
a new approach. Democrats and Republicans and these local school boards 
want a new approach.
  Our teachers need the flexibility to innovate. That is why the 
Student Success Act reforms a patchwork of narrowly scoped grant 
programs and, instead, creates a Local Academic Flexible Grant, which 
allows local schools to spark innovation and use teaching methods that 
work best for their students.
  During committee debate yesterday, my colleagues on the other side 
were so committed to these same old, failed education policies that 
they even defended the universally disliked highly qualified teacher 
requirement. While I agree we need the best teachers possible in the 
classroom, who are Federal bureaucrats in Washington to decide what 
makes you highly qualified? Teachers in southwest Alabama and all 
across our country agree that the highly qualified teacher provision is 
simply not effective. Yet my colleagues on the other side and their 
special interest buddies refuse to give up power and allow us to move 
in a different direction.
  It is time for the Federal Government to get some humility. 
Washington bureaucrats don't know how to educate our children, but 
local superintendents, school boards, teachers, and principals do, so 
let's empower them. It is time we restored local control over education 
policy and put power in the hands of those who know our students best. 
Let's put the focus on the student for once, and that is exactly what 
this act does.
  I think the President may be on to something. We shouldn't continue 
with the same, failed education policy that has failed us for decades. 
We should get away from this centralized approach to education, which 
has failed the students throughout America. Mr. Speaker, the Student 
Success Act offers that new approach.
  I urge the leadership of this House to bring the Student Success Act 
to the floor for a vote, and let's empower parents and local education 
leaders. For once, let's put the students first.

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