U.S. Chamber Statement on Education Legislation Introduced in the Senate

WASHINGTON, D.C.— U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s President of the Forum for Policy Innovation Margaret Spellings; Kentucky Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Dave Adkisson; Knoxville Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mike Edwards: Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Kelly J. Brough; Florida Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Wilson; and Texas Association of Business President and CEO Bill Hammond; issued the following statement today following Senate introduction of legislation reauthorizing No Child Left Behind:

“This week a group of Senate Republicans introduced a series of bills aimed at updating the No Child Left Behind Act. It’s been 10 years since the law was enacted and four since it was eligible for reauthorization by the Congress. Changes are in order, and some of the bills being introduced make necessary and important changes to update and streamline the law. However, we cannot support their proposal as drafted.

“While we support providing states greater flexibility to differentiate which schools are succeeding and which schools need comprehensive reform, this legislation retreats from the commitment to educate every child everywhere. Allowing states to target our worst-performing schools as embraced by this legislation and the Administration is appropriate, but only focusing on the bottom 5% at the expense of poor and minority students elsewhere is ill-conceived. Millions of students across the country are trapped in schools with abysmal performance or wide achievement gaps and that don’t fall within the bottom 5% of schools. Those students, who are the future workforce for our employers, will be stuck in schools that will be required to do nothing. In addition, those students will lose their right to move to a higher-performing public school or get free tutoring.

“Job creators across the country need our schools to keep their foot on the accelerator, not the brakes, to ensure students have the knowledge and skills they need to get a job and compete in the global workforce.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.