House Committee on Education and Labor
U.S. House of Representatives

Education Issues

K-12 Education

In 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act was established to reform programs authorized by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, the principal federal law impacting K-12 education.  The most comprehensive education reform overhaul ever enacted, No Child Left Behind represents the first real, bipartisan effort to bring true accountability and flexibility to federal education programs.  It reflects four essential pillars of education reform: accountability, flexibility and local control, funding for what works, and expanded parental options. 

No Child Left Behind is scheduled for reauthorization in the 110th Congress, and congressional Republicans will use the opportunity to continue making fiscally-responsible reforms to improve student achievement and close the achievement gaps that have persisted for decades between disadvantaged students and their peers.  Republicans will work to ensure that when it comes to a child’s education, decisions are left to those who know best how to make them: parents, local school districts, and states.

On September 6, 2007, Representatives George Miller and Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Education and Labor, released a staff discussion draft of Titles II - XI of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.  This follows the release on August 28 of Title I of the discussion draft.  The draft was developed through input received at nearly two dozen Congressional hearings and many discussions with education organizations and concerned citizens. The Committee has received thousands of comments on the draft, and thanks stakeholders for sharing their views.

• View the text of Title I of the draft
• View the summary of Title I of the draft
• View the text of Title II of the draft
• View the text of Titles III - XI of the draft
• View the summary of Titles II - XI of the draft

Press Releases

McKeon: Democrats’ Rhetoric No Substitute for Action on Energy Reform (August 16, 2008)

Republicans Unveil Back to School Energy Survey (July 30, 2008)

McKeon: Democrats Vote for Summer Vacation While Working Families Continue to Struggle (July 30, 2008)

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Member Views

McKeon op-ed in The Hill: Where the need for reform never rests (June 4, 2008)

McKeon op-ed at FlashReport.org: Economic Recovery Depends on Energy Solutions (May 30, 2008)

McKeon Commentary for Forbes.com - Education Solutions (January 23, 2008)

Fact Sheets

The No Child Left Inside Act (H.R. 3036) (September 8, 2008)

The Charter School Program Enhancement Act (June 28, 2007)

Reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act: Top Ten House Republican Priorities (June 25, 2007)

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Dear Colleagues

More Evidence Against the Creation of a Federal School Construction Program (September 12, 2008)

USA Today Blasts Efforts to Defund Literacy Program (July 9, 2008)

Latest Casualty of High Gas Prices? School Bus Routes (June 24, 2008)

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Left Turns

Democrats Ignore the Burden of Gas Prices on America’s Schools (June 4, 2008)

A Quarter of a Century After Education Reform ‘Call to Arms,’ Democrats Stubbornly Refuse to Pass Legislation to Improve our Schools (April 25, 2008)

Floor Statements

McKeon Statement on H.R. 3195, the ADA Amendments Act (June 25, 2008)

McKeon Statement on H.R. 3021, the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act (June 4, 2008)

Committee Statements

Castle Opening Statement: Subcommittee Hearing on, “Challenges Facing Bureau Of Indian Education Schools In Improving Student Achievement” (September 9, 2008)

David Davis Statement: Hearing on “Caring for the Vulnerable: The State of Social Work in America” (July 29, 2008)

Keller Statement: Hearing on “The Benefits of Physical and Health Education For Our Nation’s Children” (July 24, 2008)