A bill to extend the educational flexibility program under section 4 of the Education Flexibility Partnership Act of 1999.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I join my colleague in supporting S. 2363, a bill to extend the current Ed-Flex authority.

The Ed-Flex program was first established in 1994 through the Goals 2000 Act. I was chief sponsor of the bill and Bill Goodling of Pennsylvania was the author of the Ed-Flex language. This was part of an early effort to provide States with greater flexibility as they begin to implement education reform initiatives.

Ed-Flex addressed criticism that certain Federal education requirements stymied local education reform and allowed local school districts to apply to waive select education requirements.

In exchange for greater flexibility, the local school district must demonstrate improved academic performance. Twelve States were granted Ed-Flex authority in 1999. Ten States continue to have the authority: Colorado, Delaware, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Vermont.

S. 2363 would extend Ed-Flex for these 10 States until Congress reauthorizes No Child Left Behind.

By extending this authority for these 10 States, local school districts in these States will not have to interrupt the measures they currently have in place.

In Maryland, this includes allowing school districts that receive title I funds to allow all the students in the school to take advantage of title I services, such as extra attention in reading, in writing for elementary school students.

In Massachusetts, seven school districts are using Ed-Flex authority to provide title I service to schools that previously had access to these services; but due to shifts in school populations, these schools were no longer eligible for these funds, even though the need still existed.

I am pleased that States have been responsible in approving waivers requested by the school districts. States have adhered to the law which prohibits certain waivers such as those affecting civil rights and maintenance of effort. These provisions are important and exist to maintain necessary protection for students and funding.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, let me also mention that the Department of Education has provided assurances that it will not allow States to waive compliance with a highly qualified teacher provision in No Child Left Behind. All States must be in compliance with this provision by the end of this school year.

The highly qualified teacher provision is critical to improving student academic performance. All children should have the benefit of a teacher who is certified in the subject area they teach. The highly qualified teacher provision in No Child Left Behind ensures that that will happen, and I appreciate the Department's oversight on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, this bill is well thought out and deserves the support of this House.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 2363) to extend the educational flexibility program under section 4 of the Education Flexibility Partnership Act of 1999.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in support of Senate 2363, a bill that would extend the Education Flexibility Partnership Act, also known as Ed-Flex. This important bill will allow States that have already been approved for the Ed-Flex program to continue to participate until the No Child Left Behind Act is reauthorized and the issue of appropriate administrative flexibility can be re-examined by Congress.

As some of you may know, Ed-Flex provides greater State and local flexibility when using Federal education

funds to support locally designed comprehensive school improvement efforts. This increased flexibility is provided in exchange for increased accountability for results.

Specifically, Ed-Flex allows the Secretary of Education to delegate the authority to States to waive certain Federal statutory or regulatory requirements affecting the State and local school districts and schools, if they have adopted challenging academic standards and strong provisions for holding schools accountable for student achievement.

I would also like to point out that there are some provisions of Federal law that cannot be waived under the Ed-Flex program. Those provisions include requirements relating to fiscal accountability standards, equitable participation by private school pupils and teachers, parental involvement, allocation of funds to States and local school districts, as well as health, safety and civil rights.

I am pleased that my home State of Delaware is one of the States that has been participating in the Ed-Flex program. They have used the additional flexibility provided by Ed-Flex to better serve students and schools with a high level of poverty.

I urge all of you to support the bill. In exchange for accountability, we can give States and local schools increased flexibility and more freedom from unnecessary and burdensome Federal regulations that can so often get in the way of attaining educational excellence. I ask my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 2363, introduced earlier today.

Mr. President, I rise today to express my strong support for the extension we are passing tonight of the Education Flexibility Partnership Act.

I authored the original legislation to create Ed-Flex, as it is more commonly known, back in 1999 after learning through my chairmanship of the Senate Budget Committee Task Force on Education about the excessive red tape attached to Federal education funding.

I listened to school administrators and education leaders who told me again and again about the bureaucratic challenges they faced when trying to improve education.

After seeing how a demonstration project involving 12 States achieved such impressive results in improving student performance, I wrote legislation to expand the program to all 50 States.

The Ed-Flex program gives greater flexibility to States in using Federal funds in exchange for greater accountability for student achievement.

The program does not change the amount of funding available--but it eliminates some of the strings attached. Schools must still use the Federal funds for the purposes for which they were designed, and health, safety, civil rights, and disabled requirements cannot be waived.

Ed-Flex was an early attempt at education reform aimed at improving student achievement, and paved the way for the No Child Left Behind Act just 2 years later.

It allows educators to find new ways of improving the quality of education for every child, and it set the stage for acknowledging the connection between flexibility and accountability in improving student performance.

Ed-Flex encourages innovation within America's schools and allows our students the opportunity to succeed academically and globally.

I thank Senator Burr for his leadership on this extension of Ed-Flex, and for the support of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their recognition of this important tool for America's students.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.