The ESSA peels back the federal control associated with No Child Left Behind by prohibiting the federal government from coercing states into adopting federal academic standards, like Common Core, and ending the practice of federally mandated high-stakes testing.“Our families and educators know what is best for our children—not Washington bureaucrats,” said Mullin. “The ESSA helps get the federal government out of the classroom and gives more control to our state and local school boards.”
Mullin, a father of five children, shared the top five reasons he supports the ESSA:
- Repeals Common Core: no school in Oklahoma will be forced by the federal government to follow Common Core standards. Instead, Oklahoma will have the right to develop or change its own set of standards.
- Gets the federal government out of Oklahoma classrooms: the secretary of education will no longer be able to impose requirements on Oklahoma schools through executive actions and conditional waivers.
- Gives Oklahoma more power over its education funding: Oklahoma will have access to a grant of federal money to support state and local education priorities. Our school districts will determine how that money is spent.
- Gets rid of high-stakes testing: the federal government will not be able to require students to take high-stakes tests required for the federal “Adequate Yearly Progress” assessment. Oklahoma state and local leaders will decide how to track progress and make sure our schools are providing a strong education.
- Gets rid of 49 bad federal education programs: the federal Department of Education is too big and spends money on ineffective and duplicative programs. The ESSA gets rid of 49 programs that are contributing to federal overreach in our classrooms.
“I support the ESEA reauthorization and the effort to return control of education to states and local school boards,” said Saul. “Local school districts need flexibility to utilize federal funding in a way that best benefits students. I thank Congressman Mullin for being our champion on this issue in Congress.”
The ESSA also contains provisions Mullin fought for in the House regarding the Federal Impact Aid program. The program provides essential funding for school districts in Oklahoma that have lost property tax revenue due to tax exempt federal property or the enrollment of children whose parents work or live on federal land, including children living on Indian lands.
“Every student deserves a strong education. Every school district must receive adequate funding to provide our kids with the tools they need to succeed,” Mullin added. “Many schools in Oklahoma face unique funding challenges, and I worked to make sure these challenges were considered in the final bill.”
The ESSA must now be approved by the U.S. Senate before it is sent to the president’s desk.