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The Administration supports House passage of H.R. 800, which would expand
the "Ed-Flex" demonstration authority to permit all States that meet the
eligibility criteria to waive certain statutory and regulatory requirements
of Federal education programs. The Administration has long supported the
concept of expanding ed-flex demonstration authority in a manner that will
promote high standards and accountability for results, coupled with
increased flexibility for States and local school districts to achieve
those results.
The Administration is pleased with the amendments made by the House
Committee on Education and the Workforce to "sunset" the bill upon
reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (to
ensure consistency between that statute and Ed-Flex), terminate local
waivers if achievement levels decline, and require public notice and
comment before waivers are requested and granted.
The Administration strongly supports the Clay/Wu amendment that would
implement the President's proposal for a long-term extension of the
one-year authority to help school districts reduce class size in the early
grades, which the Congress approved last year on a bipartisan basis. In
order to hire qualified teachers, arrange for additional classrooms, and
take other steps that are necessary to reduce class size, school districts
need to know, as soon as possible, that the Congress intends to support
this initiative for more than one year.
The Administration also supports amendments designed to further strengthen
accountability for results in the Ed-Flex program, and to ensure that
Federal education dollars continue to reach the students they were designed
to serve.
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