Last week Congressman Scott Tipton (R-Colo.) joined members of the House of Representatives in passing House Resolution 5, the Student Success Act. The legislation aims to restore local control of education decisions, empowering parents, teachers and states with the ability to ensure that students receive the best possible education, according to a news release issued Friday by Tipton’s office. The measure next goes to the Senate for consideration.

“Today (Friday) we voted to permanently fix the problems that have plagued our schools by reducing Washington’s interference with state’s, parent’s and teacher’s ability to provide our kids with the best possible education,” Tipton said in a news release. “Education matters are most effectively handled at the local level, by empowering those that know our kid’s needs best to make decisions for their education — not Washington.

“If we follow the ‘Washington knows best’ mentality, then Washington will continue to direct our much-needed education dollars toward meeting the costs of administration, rather than enriching the minds of our children.”

If passed by the Senate, the Student Success Act would:

• Eliminate Adequate Yearly Progress for state-determined accountability systems;
• Eliminate federally mandated actions and interventions currently required of poor performing schools;
• Repeal federal Highly Qualified Teacher requirements and direct states and school districts to develop teacher evaluation systems;
• Consolidate existing K-12 education programs into a new Local Academic Flexible Grant;
• Support opportunities for parents to enroll their children in local magnet schools and charter schools; and
• Protect state and local autonomy over decisions in the classroom by limiting the authority of the secretary of education.

“Under the current system, states like Colorado are required to surrender control of the content taught in local classrooms by having to agree to national standards and tests, and are also unable to implement their own requirements to ensure that effective teachers are in classrooms,” Tipton said in the release. “The product of this system has been discouraging, with nearly one in four students failing to graduate from high school on time, and only a third of eighth graders able to read at a proficient level.

“The federal system has let our kids down. We can do better, and this legislation will ensure that our kids receive the quality education they deserve.”