Student Success Act HR 5

HR 5, The Student Success Act, has language in it that should concern all of us:

   “‘‘Subpart 4—Restoration of State Sovereignty Over Public Education and Parental Rights Over the Education of Their Children

‘‘SEC. 6561. STATES TO RETAIN RIGHTS AND AUTHORITIES THEY DO NOT EXPRESSLY WAIVE.

HR 5 RH House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate.

‘‘Subpart 4—Restoration of State Sovereignty Over Public Education and Parental Rights Over the Education of Their Children

‘‘SEC. 6561. STATES TO RETAIN RIGHTS AND AUTHORITIES THEY DO NOT EXPRESSLY WAIVE.

‘‘(a) RETENTION OF RIGHTS AND AUTHORITIES

—No officer, employee, or other authority of the Secretary shall enforce against an authority of a State, nor shall any authority of a State have any obligation to obey, any requirement imposed as a condition of receiving assistance under a grant program established under this Act, nor shall such program operate within a State, unless the legislature of

that State shall have by law expressly approved that program and, in doing so, have waived the State’s rights and authorities to act inconsistently with any requirement that

might be imposed by the Secretary as a condition of receiving that assistance.

‘(b) AMENDMENT OF TERMS OF RECEIPT OF FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.

—An officer, employee, or other authority of the Secretary may release assistance under a grant program established under this Act to a State only after the legislature of the State has by law expressly approved the program (as described in subsection (a)). This approval may be accomplished by a vote to affirm a State budget that includes the use of such federal funds and any such State budget must expressly include any requirement imposed as a condition of receiving assistance under a grant program established under this Act so that by approving the budget, the State legislature is expressly approving the grant program and, in doing so, waiving the State’s rights and authorities to act inconsistently with any requirement that might be imposed by the Secretary as a condition of receiving that assistance.”

First of all let’s look at the title, “Restoration of State Sovereignty…”.  In order to restore something, we would have had to have lost it first.  When did the states lose their sovereignty?  States may not be acting as though they are sovereign, but they most definitely are still sovereign.  Also, state sovereignty is not something granted by the federal government.

The title also indicated that they are restoring “Parental Rights Over the Education of Their Children”.  Again, parents have not lost the right over the education of their children.  Do they want us to believe that by throwing that terminology into the title that a legislature, if it were to “waive the rights of the state” that it would also be waiving the rights of parents?  Our rights are inalienable.  This means that we cannot be separated from our rights, ever.

We must all be clear:  the federal government cannot define a procedure whereby states waive their rights!  There is no authority for any legislature to waive the rights of their state.

Let these guys know that this is unacceptable:

RALPH ABRAHAM 202- 224-3121 www.abraham.house.gov
CHARLES BOUSTANY 202-225-2031 www.boustany.house.gov
JOHN FLEMING 202-225-2777 www.fleming.house.gov
GARRET GRAVES 202-225-3901 www.graves.house.gov
CEDRIC RICHMOND 202-225-6636 www.richmond.house.gov
STEVE SCALISE 202-225-3015 www.scalise.house.gov

You can track HR5 here:

https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/5/text

Source: http://thepeoplellc.weebly.com/blog/the-people-llc-address-hr-5-student-success-act