Members Of U.S. Senate & Congress Tell John King To Kill Supplement Not Supplant Regulation!

Today, twenty-five Republicans in both the U.S. Senate and House Education committees told U.S. Secretary of Education to kill the “supplement not supplant” regulation that has drawn the ire of the majority of the teaching profession in America.  In a nutshell, this regulation would completely change the way Title I funds are disbursed to schools, would cause severe damage to the teaching profession, and would grant Title I funds to schools that are not Title I schools.  I wish some Democrat members of these committees would speak up!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CONTACT: Press Office
November 7, 2016	(202) 226-9440
25 Senate, House Education Committee Members: Education Department Should Withdraw Rule That Violates “the Unambiguously Expressed Intent of Congress” Proposed “supplement not supplant” regulation could harm students, schools, and teachers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Twenty-five Republican members of the Senate and House education committees today urged the Department of Education to withdraw its proposed “supplement not supplant” regulation, saying it “violates the unambiguously expressed intent of Congress,” and called on the department to instead work with Congress to implement the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act as it is written. The regulatory proposal would change the longstanding requirement that prevents school districts from using federal Title I funds as a replacement for state and local funds in low-income schools. In comments submitted to Education Secretary John King, the members said the rule “draws broad and inaccurate conclusions about what Congress intended when amending the [‘supplement not supplant’] provision that are not supported by the statutory text and violate clear and unambiguous limitations on the Secretary’s authority.” The members said certain provisions of the rule are “unlawful, unnecessary and could result in harmful consequences to [local educational agencies], schools, teachers, and students.” Specifically, the rule dictates to states and local school districts how they should distribute state and local funds, which violates the law and its prohibitions on the Secretary. They write: In Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, the U.S. Supreme Court established that the test for reviewing an agency’s interpretation of a statute consists of two related questions. First, the question is “whether Congress has directly spoken to the precise question at issue. If the intent of Congress is clear, that is the end of the matter” because the court and agency must “give effect to the unambiguously expressed intent of Congress.” Second, if “Congress has not directly addressed the precise question at issue” or “if the statute is silent or ambiguous” the question is “whether the agency’s answer is based on a permissible construction of the statute.” They continue: The intent of Congress in amending the SNS requirements under Title I of ESEA is clear and unambiguous in directly speaking to the issue of how LEAs must demonstrate compliance. As the Court has held, that should be “the end of the matter” for the Department, which through rulemaking should “give effect to the unambiguously expressed intent of Congress.” Instead, the NPRM violates this principle in imposing new requirements that reflect the Department’s own construction of the statute. We therefore strongly urge the Department to rescind this additional language and work with Congress in a bipartisan, bicameral way to implement ESSA as Congress clearly intended. The following outlines areas of agreement, and then describes the ways in which the Department’s proposal violates the letter and intent of the statute and could lead to negative results for low-income students and schools if it were implemented. The letter was signed by Senate education committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN), along with Senate committee members Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Susan Collins (R- ME), Michael B. Enzi (R-WY), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Mark Kirk (R-IL), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Pat Roberts (R-KS), and House committee members Mike Bishop (R-MI), Bradley Byrne (R-AL), Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (R-GA), Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Joe Heck (R-NV), Luke Messer (R-IN), Phil Roe (R-TN), Todd Rokita (R-IN), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA), Tim Walberg (R-MI), and Joe Wilson (R-SC). To read the letter, click here.

You don’t have to click on the link, you can read the entire letter below:

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Lily Eskelsen Garcia, Why Are You Telling Members To Vote Yes When Final Product Isn’t Out Yet? #StopESEA

I wrote a plea to the National Education Association earlier today to wait until they see the final product before urging members to vote yes on the ESEA reauthorization.  So can someone please tell me why their President, Lily Eskelen Garcia, is doing the exact opposite?  This was sent to all NEA members across the country earlier this week:

An ESEA Update from NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia

Admit it, I’ve been telling you since July that we were getting closer to the finish line of ESEA Reauthorization and you have been thinking, “Yeah right!” 

Well, as you can read in this statement from the House Education and the Workforce Committee or NEA’s statement, the House-Senate ESEA conference committee has voted to approve the framework agreement for ESEA reauthorization!  

What’s next? While we will not see official bill language until November 30th, this framework agreement does seem to address our core goals of closing opportunity gaps, giving students more time to learn and teachers to teach, and includes educators’ voices in the decision making process.  

The House is expected to vote as early as December 2nd followed by a Senate vote the week of December 7th. As usual, this is where you come in to continue the incredible work that has moved ESEA Reauthorization this far down the road. Go to GetESEARight.com  to send an email, or call 1-866-331-7233 to urge your members of Congress to VOTE YES on the ESEA conference agreement!

I would seriously question the wisdom of your President!  This is foolish and hasty at best…