12.09.15

Sullivan Supports Major Education Reform Bill

Legislation Eliminates Common Core Mandate, Restores Local & State Control

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) released the following statement today after voting in support of the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA), which passed the U.S. Senate on a vote of 85-12. This bipartisan bill is the most significant education reform since 2001, and will replace the outdated and ineffective standards that were forced on states under the No Child Left Behind Act. The ESSA removes control of education from the federal government and rightfully returns it back to the states and local communities.

“I came to Washington with the goal of taking power and responsibility away from the federal government, and returning it to state and local hands,” said Senator Sullivan. “With overwhelming passage of bipartisan education reform legislation in both the House and Senate – the first in over a decade – we have begun to do that. The ESSA eliminates the federal Common Core mandate, which so many Alaskans have opposed, and prevents the federal government from acting as a national school board. And while this bill isn’t perfect, it restores control of schools back to teachers, local school boards, states, and engaged parents, who are the best educators. Finally, I want to thank Senator Lisa Murkowski for her steadfast commitment to education reform for Alaska and for all the years that she’s worked to make this legislation happen.”

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