Sec. 7. Sense of the Congress

288 words·~1 min read·/bill/113/hr/5/eh/section-7

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

The Congress finds as follows: The Elementary and Secondary Education Act prohibits the Federal Government from mandating, directing, or controlling a State, local educational agency, or school’s curriculum, program of instruction, or allocation of State and local resources, and from mandating a State or any subdivision thereof to spend any funds or incur any costs not paid for under such Act. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act prohibits the Federal Government from funding the development, pilot testing, field testing, implementation, administration, or distribution of any federally sponsored national test in reading, mathematics, or any other subject, unless specifically and explicitly authorized by law.

The Secretary of Education, through 3 separate initiatives, has created a system of waivers and grants that influence, incentivize, and coerce State educational agencies into implementing common national elementary and secondary standards and assessments endorsed by the Secretary. The Race to the Top Fund encouraged and incentivized States to adopt Common Core State Standards developed by the National Governor’s Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers.

The Race to the Top Assessment grants awarded to the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SMARTER Balance) initiated the development of Common Core State Standards aligned assessments that will, in turn, inform and ultimately influence kindergarten through 12th-grade curriculum and instructional materials. The conditional Elementary and Secondary Education Act flexibility waiver authority employed by the Department of Education coerced States into accepting Common Core State Standards and aligned assessments.

It is the sense of the Congress that States and local educational agencies should maintain the rights and responsibilities of determining educational curriculum, programs of instruction, and assessments for elementary and secondary education.