“I certainly recognize that the federal ESSA provides somewhat more flexibility for States than the previous No Child Left Behind (NCLB) reauthorization of ESEA. However, it is not the proper role for the federal government to guide education policy. When will federal officials start to realize that their massive educational reform agenda, almost approaching a 30-year effort, has not improved education?” ~ Georgia State Senator William Ligon
December 5, 2015 – State Senator Blasts ESEA: Use His Letter to Reach Your Own Legislators
tate Senator William Ligon has been a champion in the fight against Common Core and related false education reforms in Georgia. So, it should be no surprise that he would stand up against the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)–the proposed reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), currently authorized as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The federal bill would entrench the Common Core standards and other troubling initiatives nationwide.
In a four-page letter to Speaker Paul Ryan, shortly before the House vote on ESEA/ESSA, Ligon blasted the proposed federal legislation, laying out clear, factually based concerns that seriously undermine the talking points being used to encourage yes votes. Ligon has since given his permission to use the letter as a tool in reaching other state and federal legislators, as well as the public, about this bill. The goal is to at least slow the impending vote in the Senate.