By Rep. Costello,

This month, the House took action to pass legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) through H. R. 5: the Student Success Act (SSA). ESEA, the nation’s primary federal K-12 education program, was first enacted in 1965 and was last reauthorized through the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2002. While the intentions of NLCB were genuine, the flaws in the program caused it to expire in 2007 without reauthorization.

This opened the door for federal bureaucrats to impose the Common Core agenda on students across the country. With only 26% of high school seniors proficient in math and 38% proficient in reading, it is clear this top-down and one-size-fits-all approach did not adequately address the needs of many students. The good news is the SSA would replace the current national accountability scheme based on high-stakes tests, and aims to replace it with accountability systems that are controlled by states and school officials. The SSA puts the responsibility of measuring student and school performance back where it belongs – in the in the hands of local school officials and states.

The SSA includes several provisions that put students, parents and educators first. Importantly, the legislation reduces the federal footprint and restores control to the hands of schools and local officials by:

• Eliminating the maze of more than 65 repetitive programs and provides states more flexibility through a Local Academic Flexible Grant.
• Preventing the Secretary of Education from forcing states to adopt programs such as Common Core.

Additionally, it empowers parents and education leaders in our community by:

• Providing parents and education leaders with the information they need to hold local schools accountable.
• Encouraging parents to place their child in schools where they can succeed.
• Giving states and local school districts more flexibility to control student assessments, and empowering parents with the choice to opt their children out of burdensome testing.

This bill also ensures the current education program is maintained through 2019. We are not simply kicking the can down the road – we are committing ourselves to improving our education system.

During consideration of SSA, I joined with my Democrat colleague, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon, to introduce an amendment that enables state and local education agencies to utilize federal resources to audit their assessments and develop plans to make smarter and better use of, or even eliminate, certain tests.

I was pleased that the House unanimously accepted this amendment as part of the bill. It’s a good step toward streamlining our education assessment system and I hope that my colleagues in the U.S. Senate will agree as they continue debate on K-12 education policies. (Editor’s Note: The U.S. Senate passed a version of the overhaul bill this week.)

I went to public schools. My mom and dad were both once public school teachers and my brother currently is one as well. I understand the importance of letting our teachers teach, and giving our students an opportunity to grow and learn. My focus is on giving states and local school districts extra tools to navigate the current testing maze and empowering teachers to use their talents to bring out the best in students.

The passage of H.R. 5 improves the outdated, one-size-fits-all, status quo policies that have failed our students and teachers. This legislation is an important piece of the education puzzle and will ensure we are establishing a system that will provide students and teachers with the necessary tools to succeed.

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Congressman Ryan Costello serves portions of Berks, Chester, Lebanon and Montgomery Counties. He graduated from Owen J. Roberts High School in Pottstown and earned his undergraduate and law degrees from Ursinus College and the Villanova School of Law. Ryan, his wife Christine, and their newborn son Ryan Jr. live in West Chester.