Governors urge federal restraint in new K-12 law
WASHINGTON — Governors from around the country praised a new federal K-12 education law on Sunday, but some aren't convinced Washington bureaucrats will stay out of their way as states implement it.
The governors, in Washington for the National Governors Association's winter meeting, credited the new law with limiting federal control over local schools. But some said they're on the lookout for hidden federal mandates on elementary and secondary education policy.
They plan to monitor the U.S. Education Department “to ensure that it adheres closely to the principles of federalism,” said Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley.
The Every Student Succeeds Act, signed by President Obama in December, leaves it up to states to set their own academic standards, decide the role of test scores in measuring school quality and dictate state plans for improving underperforming schools.
Bentley, vice chairman of the NGA's education and workforce committee, also warned federal education officials to tread lightly in issuing rules to implement the new law.
“The federal government should issue regulations selectively and only on provisions where states and local districts agree that guidance is needed,” said Bentley, a Republican.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., tried to reassure the governors that the Every Student Succeeds Act wouldn’t have passed by such large bipartisan margins if it hadn't promised to reverse the years of federal control established by its predecessor, the No Child Left Behind law.
“We are taking away power from the administration,” said Alexander, a former governor who served as education secretary under President George H.W. Bush.
As chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Pensions and Labor Committee, Alexander was a key negotiator in passing the new law. He suggested governors form statewide coalitions to help write their own state education plans that meet Governors urge federal restraint in new K-12 law: