The leader of the House’s largest Republican caucus is putting his weight behind a proposal to ensure that parents and communities make education choices, not the federal government.
Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., chairman of the Republican Study Committee, has a solution to fix problems within the education system. Speaking at a Heritage Foundation event Tuesday, Walker outlined his proposal, the Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success Act, known as A-PLUS. It would allow states to consolidate their federal education funds and use them for what they deem best for the individuals within the state.
For fiscal year 2016, the Department of Education’s budget totaled $77 billion. Walker, however, argued that the current system, regardless of federal funding, is failing dramatically.
“We have seen after decades that there is no improvement, no measured improvement when it comes to the education of our children,” he said.
Walker, an advocate for school choice, said education decisions should be placed in the hands of parents and teachers, rather than bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.
“To be able to have the ability to redirect those funds to specific programs that are working in our local communities and school boards, I think it’s the way to go,” Walker said.
Walker, who introduced the bill this week, told The Daily Signal that the A-PLUS Act is a step in the right direction to reforming the education system.
“I believe this A-PLUS Act gives us the opportunity and the authority to remove the federal mandate such as Common Core [education standards] to be able to allow the focus to make their own decisions,” Walker said.
Echoing sentiments of President Donald Trump’s inauguration speech, Walker said power should be returned to the people, particularly in regard to education.
“I do believe if you’re looking at the conservative perspective, whether you want to talk federalism or you want to talk about returning power to the states and local communities, this is the perfect piece of education legislation that does exactly that,” Walker said. “Washington needs to be held accountable and needs to return the power to the people, which is exactly what the A-PLUS Act does—letting people make the decisions when it comes to education.”
Walker delivered the keynote address at the unveiling of Heritage’s new Center for Education Policy. This is also the fifth annual National School Choice Week.
Lindsey Burke, director of Heritage’s new education center and the Will Skillman fellow, said in a speech at the event that “public funding does not have to mean government delivery of school.”
While education choice has become increasingly popular, the idea of government involvement is still prominent in the education system, according to Burke. She said:
Government should not get in between a student and their higher education goals. Government should not get in between parents and their direction of their children’s education. There will never be a better advocate for their child than a parent. There will never be a stronger form of accountability than parents who are empowered to vote with their feet when a school or a provider doesn’t meet their needs.
Virginia Walden Ford, founding member of the Black Alliance for Educational Options, told The Daily Signal that parents should have the final say in the education of their children.
“Parents are the children’s first teachers,” Ford said. “Whether they got a high school diploma or what, they still are teaching that child from a baby how to do certain things. I think parents have an innate ability to know what their children need and I think it’s been proven in programs all over the country and our programs over the years.”
Walker noted, “As conservatives, we know that children succeed when parents and teachers are involved, not the bureaucracies or the politicians.”
According to Walker, education should not be a partisan issue. He said he hopes his legislation will be a vehicle to move forward with reforms.
“We hear so much talk in Washington, D.C., always looking for something that is generated out of a bipartisan heart,” Walker said. “I can’t think of any other issue that’s greater than the education of our children when it comes to bipartisanship.”
