Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement on the Every Student Succeeds Act, which allows individual states and local school districts expanded authority to evaluate the performance of schools. The bill passed by a vote of 359 to 64. Congresswoman Clarke voted “yes.”

“Since the enactment of No Child Left Behind, many parents, teachers, and school administrators have been concerned that national standards for schools fail to allow local school districts to develop the best programs for their students to learn. With the Every Student Succeeds Act, state and local school boards will have the flexibility to utilize different types of assessments using various measures. In addition, the law will provide for better reporting of data about the performance of students and require more disclosures from charter schools. But I am concerned about provisions that could potentially result in the redistribution of resources from the neediest schools to the wealthier schools. And we must remain vigilant in preventing local school districts from failing to provide equal access to education for poor students and students of color who have historically been denied access to critical resources.”

Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, the Committee on Ethics and the Committee of Small Business in the House of Representatives, proudly represents Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, Park Slope, Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.