The LEARN Act will Protect NJ Education

On Thursday, I introduced H.R. 3176, the Local Education Authority Returns Now (LEARN) Act, to return educational sovereignty back to the states.  New Jersey residents have always taken pride in the education we provide our young people, but year after year we lose more and more control to the federal government.  The LEARN Act will free us from the shackles that come with federal mandates by allowing states to completely opt out of federal education funding and keep 100% of the tax dollars we send to the Department of Education.

Federal money always comes with endless strings attached. Faceless, unelected bureaucrats at the Department of Education dictate education standards and curriculum from hundreds of miles away—these are decisions that should be made by teachers, administrators and parents in our communities.

The LEARN Act is a simple, straightforward approach to education reform that emphasizes local control.  Here’s how it works:

1.   States Opt Out – A state arrives at an independent decision that the administrative requirements and the burden of compliance are not worth the amount of federal education aid received from the Department of Education and the state elects to opt out.

2.   Funding Calculated – The Secretary of the Treasury determines which states have opted out and determines how much federal funding the state is eligible to receive under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

3.   Tax Credits Awarded – The taxpayers of the opt-out states receive a tax credit proportionally equal to the taxpayers’ state tax burden.

As I wrote in an op-ed for The Hill this week, the future of our nation depends on our ability to educate and train the generations that will one day carry on the legacy of freedom and prosperity.  We are failing at this task because states are focused on conforming to federal regulations rather than on cultivating a competitive atmosphere where states are challenging each other to best educate our students.