(WASHINGTON, DC) – Calling it a great day for American students, teachers, and parents, Congressman Dennis Moore (Third District – Kansas) today voted for a bipartisan education reform package that is expected to be signed into law by President Bush before Christmas.

"The role of the federal government is to be a junior partner in education, assisting local school districts. This landmark legislation will increase local control of schools, ensure accountability, target funding for low-income students, and provide local districts help with repairing old schools and building new ones," said Moore.

H.R. 1 passed the House in May and the Senate a month later. In October, Moore wrote to the members of the conference committee asking that states be allowed to waive the federal testing requirements if state tests were deemed sufficient. The bill that passed the House today will allow states to design and select their own tests. Those tests would be compared to a national benchmark test administered to a sample of fourth- and eighth-graders in each state.

"I learned from local educators that administering a federal test to every student, every year would have cost Kansas millions of dollars. This compromise will ensure accountability, without passing a massive unfunded mandate onto the states," said Moore. The bill authorizes funding for the tests, but Moore cautioned that it could take work to ensure it is appropriated.

"Many states are experiencing budget problems and the last thing they need is another unfunded federal mandate," said Moore.

In addition to authorizing $26.3 billion in funding for elementary and secondary schools, the education bill also:

* Doubles President Bush’s request for programs to improve teacher quality and retention; * Authorizes funding for school construction and repair; * Increases local schools’ ability to transfer federal funds between programs with fewer restrictions; and * Provides "report cards" on school performance to parents and the public.

"While I do support this bill, I am disappointed that Congress has once again not addressed the federal government’s failure to fully fund its share of special education. I urged the committee to include IDEA funding, but instead they have put it off for another year. I will continue to fight for full funding of special education," said Moore.