Senate committee unanimously passes MN withdrawal from NCLB

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February 23, 2004

Senate committee unanimously passes MN withdrawal from NCLB

Senator Michele Bachmann introduced SF1921, which would remove Minnesota from NCLB. It was a bipartisan bill co-authored by Sen. Ranum, and it passed unanimously. this was a significant statement of rejection by Minnesotans against the federal take-over of education in our schools.

It will mean saying "no" to federal education money. however, a cost-benefit analysis in several states demonstrate the real cost of compliance. utah, for example, utah will receive $70 million new federal dollars, and it will cost them over $225 million to comply.

A Feb. 10 vote by the Utah house challenged the federal law. In January, the Republican-controlled Virginia house of delegates passed a resolution, 98 to 1, urging congress to exempt Virginia from the law. That vote came after Rod Paige, the US Education Secretary, met with Virginia lawmakers.

The MN house bill is sponsored by Rep. Mark Olson, and co- sponsored by Reps. Pelowski, B. Anderson, Seifert, Buesgens, Erickson, Delaforest, Dorn, Dorman, Otremba, Borrell, and Greiling.

US Secretary of Education visits MN to defend NCLB.
Rod Paige came into town to put out the prairie fires against NCLB last week. He heard similar things to what he's heard in other states: the issue is less about the money and more about the intrusiveness of federal law. As in the state of Virginia resolution, Minnesota lawmakers consider NCLB to represent one of the "most sweeping intrusions into state and local control of education in the history of the united states"

Action:
Please thank Sen. Bachmann (651-296-4351) and other members of the senate committee, and urge the house members to support it.