National School Board group seeks curbs on U.S. Ed Secretary
By Tom Chorneau
Thursday, March 28, 2013
The National School Boards Association and its 90,000 members are sponsoring legislation aimed at curbing the authority of the U.S. Secretary of Education – an outgrowth likely stemming from the group’s chilly relationship with the Obama administration during the president’s first term.
HR 1386 by Congressmen Aaron Schock, R-Illinois and Patrick Meehan, R-Pennsylvania would prohibit the U.S. Department of Education from adopting any new regulations, rules or grant requirements without first offering the education community 60 days to provide written comments.
The bill would also restrict the education secretary from taking any new regulatory action that would conflict with the “power and authority” of local educational agencies or would add additional costs not supported by federal funding.
“A lot of the policies of the department have just been stepping over the authority of a locally-elected school board to make decisions that are in the best interest of their community and students,” said Erika Hoffman, legislative advocate for the California School Boards Association.
“What we are asking for in the bill, is an opportunity to review policies and have a voice in how it comes down – which