WASHINGTON, DC – At a hearing on the nomination of John King to be the U.S. Secretary of Education, U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) today said the federal mandate on Common Core is prohibited under the new law, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and reminded King, a strong proponent of Common Core, that the law must be implemented as Congress intended.

“Our children receive the best possible education when decisions are made at the local and state level. Unfortunately, under this Administration, the Department of Education incentivized and coerced states into implementing Common Core education standards. I wanted the commitment of the nominee that he will respect the intent as well as the explicit and binding prohibition on federal incentives for education standards like Common Core that are now law.” 

Roberts wrote and fought for the provision to permanently end the federal government’s ability to use any incentive or tool of coercion to force states to adopt Common Core – or any future set of standards, which was finally included in ESSA signed into law last year. 

Just last week, Roberts held a roundtable discussion with 12 college presidents and 12 business leaders from around Kansas at Washburn University to discuss the upcoming Higher Education Reauthorization and workforce development.

Already using their advice and counsel, Senator Roberts showed King a chart of federal regulations prepared by Johnson County Community College that highlights 34 areas of federal regulation that are costly and impactful to the school. 

“Clearly we need to work together to eliminate many of these burdensome regulations that hinder institutions of higher education’s main goal, which is to educate our students effectively and efficiently,” Roberts said. He went on to ask King, “Do you intend to be a partner in addressing many of these time-consuming regulations that hamper the ability of our colleges to innovate and grow?” 

King committed to working with Congress to eliminate these unnecessary regulations. 

To watch video of Senator Roberts’ remarks, click here.

Senator Roberts is a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

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