Should education be shifted from the federal to the state level?
This bill seeks to end the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CSSI), a list of academic standards for K-12 students, specifically for Mathematics and English Language Arts. CSSI was launched in 2009 to establish academic learning goals across the states. Through this bill, CSSI would cease to exist, yet students across the country would have more choices in schools. For example, the bill aims to increase educational options for families, such as school vouchers, tax-credit scholarships, and other methods for families to give their children a better education. One implication would be the reduced insights of the federal government on education and becoming more involved on a state level. While the states may have more control over education systems, this could lead to potential inconsistency, and public schools may receive less funding and enrollment. Sponsor: Rep. Andy Biggs (Republican, Arizona, District 5)
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Opponents say
• "Talarico, who like Hinojosa has been subject to Abbott's public rebukes due to his vocal opposition to vouchers, referred during remarks Saturday to a bill he authored that would use money from the state's budget surplus to give every Texas teacher a $15,000 pay raise. Talarico revved the crowd by calling on legislators to pass this legislation instead of implementing a school choice program. ‘Abbott is trying to pass his private school voucher scam once again because he's beholden to billionaires who want to close our public schools and sell them for parts," Talarico said. "First, they'll have to come through us.’ Talarico seemed to touch on the notion that school choice is a done deal this session, telling the crowd that lawmakers have "a lot of game left to play" when passing the governor's priority item." Source: Chron
• "Demonizing public education in the abstract is one thing. But it’s quite another when the target is the school where you went, where your kids went. For Todd Warner, that was Forrest High School in Chapel Hill. “My three kids graduated from public schools, and they turned out just fine,” he said. “Ninety-five percent of our students, our future business owners, our future leaders, are going to the public schools. They’re not going to private. Why take it away from them?...The response from voucher proponents to the resistance from fellow Republicans has taken several forms, all of which implicitly grant the critics’ case that voucher programs currently offer little benefit to rural areas. In some states, funding for vouchers is being paired with more money for public schools, to offer support for rural districts. In Ohio, voucher advocates are proposing to fund the construction of new private schools in rural areas where none exist, giving families places to use vouchers." Source: ProPublica
Proponents say
• "During COVID-19 we learned that parents need to have greater control over their child’s education. When traditional public schools shut down in 2020, parents were forced to turn their homes into classrooms and put their own careers and incomes on hold to pick up the slack, while public schools continued to receive federal funds. Parents became aware of the indoctrination of their children. My bill would have given states the option for federal education dollars to follow students to alternative education options, such as private schools, charter schools, homeschooling, or private tutoring. I will continue fighting to limit federal involvement in our nation’s education system. This bill is an important first step towards increasing choice in education and ensuring students have access to the education that best meets their needs." Source: Rep. Andy Biggs (Republican, Arizona, District 5)
• "Nearly two thirds of U.S. tuition grant (“voucher”) programs require schools to administer a single curriculum-based test, typically a Common Core-aligned test, in order to receive public money. Tax credits are less susceptible to government mandates than voucher programs are. Under tax credit programs, parents paying tuition or others that donate money receive a tax credit. The authors find that in 95 percent of cases, these programs are not subject to curriculum-based testing mandates. Common Core is the logical endpoint of nearly three decades of Congressionally-mandated centralization through ‘standards-based reform’ that has moved key curriculum content, sequencing and pedagogical decisions away from local school systems and educators to the state and national levels. Instead of the promised accountability for results or informed school choice, the outcome at the local level has been a culture of compliance (“alignment”) that has intruded into the core function of curriculum and teaching." Source: Pioneer Institute
• "This confirms School Choice will pass. It shows Democrats don't know what the school choice plan provides, or they lie about it, or both. School choice doesn't take a penny from public schools. It's funded separately like roads and water. Lies & fear mongering always fail." Source: Governor Greg Abbott (Republican, Texas)
- Congressman Biggs Reintroduces Ending Common Core and Expanding School Choice Act (Press Release)
- Trump could scrap Education Dept., up school choice and boost education for all (The New York Post)
- Trump’s School-Choice Agenda Hits Pushback From Red-State Voters (WSJ)
- School vouchers suck money out of public schools, hurt low-income kids, expert says (The Montana Independent)
- Vouchers Do Not Adequately Serve Low-Income Students (NCPI)
- A Reformation in Public Education School Choice in Theory and Practice (Manhattan Institute)
- Rep. Andy Biggs’ Largest Donors (OpenSecrets)
