WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell met today with Dr. John King, the nominee for Secretary of the Department of Education, in his office in the United States Capitol.
During the meeting, Senator McConnell called on Dr. King to commit to implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) as intended by Congress. ESSA, the most significant K-12 education reform in well over a decade, replaced a broken law with conservative reforms that will help students succeed instead of helping Washington, D.C. grow. It passed Congress with strong bipartisan support last year and was signed into law by the President.
“I appreciate Dr. King meeting with me today to discuss his plans as to how he would implement the Every Student Succeeds Act if his nomination is approved by the Senate,” Senator McConnell said. “The bipartisan legislation we passed last year restores state flexibility in education and limits the ability of the administration to legislate through regulation. It would grow the kind of flexibility we’ve seen work so well in states like Kentucky, and it would stop federal bureaucrats from imposing the kind of top-down, one-size-fits-all requirements that we all know threaten that progress. ESSA also puts education decisions back in the hands of those that know what is needed most–parents, students, teachers, and local and state officials–and I look forward to seeing what Kentucky and other states will achieve under a law that fully empowers them to do what’s right for their students.”
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) reported Dr. King’s nomination yesterday. The Senate has not yet scheduled a vote on his nomination.