[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 33 (Thursday, February 26, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E262]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          STUDENT SUCCESS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. GENE GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 25, 2015

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5) to 
     support State and local accountability for public education, 
     protect State and local authority, inform parents of the 
     performance of their children's schools, and for other 
     purposes:

  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to express my 
opposition to H.R. 5, the Student Success Act. This bill undermines the 
fundamental purpose of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
(ESEA), which was created to ensure that disadvantaged children are 
provided a high-quality education that allows them to compete on a 
level playing field with their more-advantaged peers.
  Among its many problematic provisions, this bill cuts crucial 
education funding, fails to hold states and districts accountable for 
supporting and improving the achievement of all students, eliminates 
and weakens protections for disadvantaged students, and lacks critical 
support systems for our nation's educators.
  I believe No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is flawed and must be reformed, 
and reauthorization presents a tremendous opportunity to make much-
needed improvements and bring our education system into the 21st 
century. However, instead of fixing the problems of NCLB, the Student 
Success Act does not reflect best practices and fails to strike the 
appropriate balance between flexibility and accountability.
  Reauthorization should support college and career-ready standards, 
address the overuse of testing in teacher and school evaluations that 
currently forces educators to substitute test preparation for 
instruction, and feature an accountability system that includes 
meaningful targets for improving student attainment that gives schools 
and districts flexibility in how they achieve those goals.
  I urge my colleagues to vote against H.R. 5 and instead support 
reauthorization that restores our nation's commitment to providing 
equal opportunity for all students regardless of their background and 
protect our country's students including the most vulnerable, which was 
the intention of this landmark civil rights law.

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