Today, Rep. John R. Carter (R-TX-31) voted in favor of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) which passed the House with overwhelming support. ESSA replaces the No Child Left Behind Act with a conservative solution that holds schools accountable, reduces federal overreach, restores power back to the parents, teachers, and principals.

“Texans know how to educate Texans best!  Our children deserve the best education possible and I believe this legislation puts our education system on the right path to success,” said Rep. Carter. “I am pleased that the House and Senate have voted to free our states, students, and teachers of the federal government’s burdensome educational requirements. The previous system of the federal government coercing states into adopting Common Core standards will no longer be tolerated and the one-size-fits-all approach will be replaced with the ability for states to create their own standards and flexibility to use funding as they see fit. This reform has been long overdue and is necessary to keep Washington out of Texas schools”

“This legislation also updates the Impact Aid program which provides federal funding to school districts such as Killeen ISD that enrolls a large number of federally connected children, including military dependent children. This is a win for the communities surrounding Ft. Hood and I am grateful that this legislation ensures our military children receive a quality education.”

Due to the ongoing force structure cuts in the Army, many military-connected school districts faced the possibility of losing significant amounts of funding. However, the ESSA includes a hold harmless provision that provides budget certainty to school districts facing a funding shortfall or significant changes to the number of federally-connected students.

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