Washington, D.C. – Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, issued the following statement on the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (S. 1177) in the House of Representatives.

“Control of education should be purview of elected state and local school boards and not the federal government. Students are best served when the teachers and school administrators, who know them best, are not held to a one-size-fits-all accountability system.

“As the Obama Administration continues to force its intrusive, big-government regulations and standards on the American people, the simple fact is that Washington agencies have no business dictating the model for a child’s education.

“This legislation signifies an overdue overhaul of the education system, placing control back in to the hands of the states, where it belongs—and demonstrating the largest rollback of federal power in over 25 years.

“I am confident that this is the first step to reforming a broken education system and will empower our teachers and local school systems with the tools to more successfully shape future generations.”