WASHINGTON– The U.S. House of Representatives today approved 26 amendments to the Student Success Act [H.R. 5], three of which were sponsored by Congressman Rob Bishop (UT-01). The three amendments sponsored by Bishop to H.R. 5 remove the mandate for federally prescribed teacher evaluations, prohibit the federal government from bypassing state authority and directly funding local districts through grants, and allow Title I funding to follow students to any public school of their choosing. Prior to being elected to Congress, Bishop taught public school in the state of Utah for 28 years.
Amendment #67: Offered by Congressman Bishop and Congressman Steve Scalice (LA-01)
removes the federal mandate set-forth by the Student Success Act for states to conduct federally prescribed teacher evaluations.
“The best evaluations come from parents and if the federal government is establishing what the requirements must be, then parents and teachers are cut off from having any input. These decisions must be made at the local level and never in Washington, D.C. States and local school officials know their teachers and students best, and it is not the role of the federal government to tell states how to develop and implement teacher evaluations. I can say firsthand that if we want students to excel academically, we have to give teachers greater flexibility and stop Washington from interfering.
The full text of the amendment can be found here
Amendment #76: Offered by Congressman Rob Bishop eliminates a provision that would allow the federal government to bypass state authority and directly fund local districts through grants. States are responsible for ensuring that each school district upholds state education requirements. Without eliminating this provision, rogue districts could bypass state policy and provisions and could then report directly to the federal government. This is a wrong process to allow.
“The federal government should not have a direct relationship with local school districts. The state and federal relationship is very specific and intentional, and it should remain this way. Funding is one of the most challenging components of public education and it’s important that there be continuity in the way it is managed and administered from the federal government to the states. To cut the state out of the equation would hurt their ability to have adequate oversight of programs and institutions in each district.”
The full text of the amendment can be found here
Amendment # 36: Offered by Congressman Rob Bishop and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (VA-07) will allow Title I funding to follow a student to any public education institution, should the state choose to allow it. The federal government has no process for fairly distributing money to states. The state of Utah, for example, addresses this by equalizing funding so that the funding follows each student. The current antiquated distribution formula for Title I allow some schools to get a lot of money and other schools to get nothing. This amendment not only improves the current distribution for Title I, but also enables each student to have greater options for their education.
“The current distribution formula does not function properly. Funding should follow the students so that the Title I program functions as it was intended. Every child should have the opportunity to attend the school that best meets their academic needs, regardless of socioeconomic status. The goal is to give every child the opportunity to learn, excel, and reach his or her full potential.”
The full text of the amendment can be found here