EDUCATION
RESTORING LOCAL CONTROL OF EDUCATION Since No Child Left Behind expired in 2007,
the Obama administration has been empowered to force states to change their education standards or go through an onerous “waiver” process. In 2014, the administration forced Oklahoma to adopt Common Core standards. Sen. Jim Inhofe led the delegation letter demanding a reinstatement of the waiver, which the administration granted in November 2014. In March, Inhofe introduced S. 690, the Local School Board Governance and Flexibility Act with Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.). The legislation repealed the Common Core standard by prohibiting the Department of Education from issuing regulations or other policies that conflict with the policies of local education authorities. It would also prevent the administration from continuing to use a “waiver” process to enact its liberal policies. On Dec. 9, the Senate passed S. 1177, the Every StuInhofe Annual Report 2015
dent Succeeds Act, which incorporates the principles of Inhofe’s local school control bill. This bill was enacted into law as P.L. 114-95 on Dec. 10. The law reforms the outdated No Child Left Behind by: • Ending the Common Core mandate. • Ending the Secretary of Education’s ability to require states to obtain waivers from the federal government to continue receiving funding without more burdensome federal requirements. • Empowering states to establish accountability systems instead of the federal government. The accountability systems will be state-designed, and the federal government is prohibited from determining or approving state standards. This reform will allow states to determine the best way to hold their teachers and school districts accountable to delivering results. Inhofe offered amendment #2169, which requires states to report on the graduation rates of homeless 12