UPDATED: Framingham's Congresswoman Blasts GOP Re-Authorization of No Child Left Behind Act

Originally posted on July 9. Updated on July 10 at 12:30 a.m.

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Wednesday, the U.S. House voted to re-authorize the No Child Left Behind law by a vote of 218-213.

Most Republicans voted to support the re-authorization, and most Democrats voted against it.

Congresswoman Katherine Clark, a Democrat from Massachusetts, released the following statement regarding the U.S. House’s re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also known as No Child Left Behind:

“The Republican majority has turned its back on America’s children by passing this backward, mean-spirited education bill,” said Clark in a statement Wednesday.

Reading and math tests would continue to be a part of the law, but the re-authorizations allows states, instead of the federal government, to decide how to use assessments to measure performance.

The re-authorization would also prohibit federal requirements on a specific set of academic standards.

“This bill slashes resources for public education across the board, but worse, it singles out the schools serving our neediest students for the most severe cuts,” said Framingham’s Congresswoman. “Our kids deserve a bill that will ensure each and every child has the opportunity to receive a great education, not a bill that yanks that opportunity from their grasp.”

The U.S. Senate is expected to debate the issue next.

“When it became clear that Republican leadership didn’t have enough votes to pass their bill back in February, they could have chosen to make the bill better by taking into account the needs of students, communities and educators. Instead, they kept making the bill worse until it was acceptable to the extreme fringe of their party,” said Clark.

The 2002 No Child Left Behind law, which included a re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act expired in 2007. Congress has not passed legislation to extend it.

The Obama administration, responding to states and school districts, has been issuing waivers from No Child Left Behind since 2011.

The re-authorization of No Child Left Behind would prohibit the Department of Education from exerting control over state academic standards. This includes Common Core.