Legislation that would completely overhaul federal education policy and eliminate the No Child Left Behind law was passed by House Republicans on Friday, according to the Associated Press.
The Student Success Act would almost entirely remove the federal government from having any role in education while giving state and local government the power to improve schools however they see fit. The White House called the legislation "a significant step backwards in the effort to help out Nation's children and their families prepare for their futures," according to the Associated Press.
In what has become a regular event in the House the bill was passed with only Republican support 221-207. Joining all of the chamber's Democrats in voting against the bill were 12 Republicans. In its current form there is no chance the legislation will pass in the Senate and if it were to pass the White House has threatened a veto, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The main thing the Student Success Act would do is remove the federal testing and teacher evaluation systems that were put in place in 2002 when the No Child Left Behind law was passed.
"This legislation will restore local control, empower parents, eliminate unnecessary Washington red tape and intrusion in schools and support innovation and excellence in the classroom," Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline, R-Minn., said.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle tend to agree that No Child Left Behind wasn't working. Last year it became clear that the requirement to have all students doing math and reading at their appropriate grade level by 2014 was not going to happen. Critics said that the law forced teachers to only "teach to the test" so that schools could keep their funding, according to the Associated Press.
Despite wanting to change the current education policy Democrats ripped the bill that passed on Friday.
"This bill guts funding for public education, abdicates the federal government's responsibility to ensure every child has an equal opportunity to a quality education, and it walks away from our duty to hold school systems accountable," Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., said.
"The bill really is pathetic and falls short of what we need to have the trained workforce for the future that business and community activists know is important," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said.
