Rounds: Education Reform Bill a Victory for South Dakota’s 150,000 Students
Every Student Succeeds Act Restores Local Control of Education
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today made the following statement on the Senate’s passage of the final Conference Report for the Every Student Succeeds Act. This bipartisan legislation replaces the widely criticized No Child Left Behind Act and shifts authority for academic standards back to the states and local school districts. It now heads to President Obama’s desk to be signed into law.
“I’ve always believed in local control of schools,” said Rounds. “The Every Student Succeeds Act takes education decisions out of the hands of Washington bureaucrats and puts it back in the hands of parents, teachers and local school boards, which is exactly where it belongs. Educators in our state will have greater flexibility to develop their own curriculum that best fits the needs of South Dakota’s youth.
“Overhaul of our education system has been long overdue. The shortcomings of No Child Left Behind – which expired seven years ago and has been reauthorized for short-term, temporary, unworkable fixes only – were evident while I was working as governor. I commend my colleagues on the Senate HELP Committee, and Republican leaders in both chambers of Congress for working across the aisle to finally accomplish meaningful reforms to our education system that restore local control of education.”
Additionally, the bill provides certainty for South Dakota’s 39 federally impacted schools and authorizes grants to improve Indian academic achievement.
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