Steve Reick, the Republican candidate for state representative in House District 63, recently expressed concerns with the U.S. Department of Education's proposal targeting elements of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) that were specifically worded to prevent the imposition of mandatory rating regulations on state education plans.
While ESSA prohibits interference with state standards, the language of the Department of Education proposal requires that states prove their curriculum standards meet the department's Common Core standards. It also implies that school districts that do not test 95 percent of students, despite parents opting their students out of the testing, may be sanctioned and lose federal funding.
The proposed regulations also require that states establish rating systems for schools that would be based on the mandatory standardized tests. The schools would be rated on a state-developed scale, with the data and ratings available to the public. This contradicts the language of ESSA, Reick said.
"Federal bureaucrats meddle with a bill designed to roll back the federal role in education policy," Reick said. "Education policy belongs at the state level, and parents need to play a larger role in their kids' education."
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