Rep.Scott Garrett reintroduced the LEARN Act to return education control back to the states
June 22,2013
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, On Monday, Rep.Scott Garrett reintroduced the Local Education Authority now the (LEARN) Act, H.R. 2394, to return education control back to the states. Â Garret believes it is in the best interest of our students and our country for parents and local authorities to be in charge of education.
The invasion of the federal government on the reserved powers of the states to set their own education standards has been going on for decades.  And, in the process, all across the nation, parents, teachers, administrators, town school boards, and local elected officials—the people closest to and most directly responsible for the students—have been shut out of the process.
If we are truly interested in transforming our public education system, we need to remove Washington bureaucrats from the equation. Â Control and accountability should be in the hands of people who can truly produce change in the areas where it is needed the most.
The LEARN Act will work in three steps:
1.  States Opt Out—A state arrives at an independent decision that the administrative requirements and the burden of compliance is not worth the amount of federal education aid it receives from the Department of Education and the state elects to opt out.
2.  Funding Calculated—The Secretary of the Treasury determines which states have opted out and determines how much federal funding the state is eligible to receive under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
3.  Tax Credits Awarded—The taxpayers of the opt-out states receive a tax credit proportionally equal to the taxpayers’ state tax burden.
Reintroduction of this important bill is just step one.  Now it’s time for Congress to do its work and pass the LEARN Act.  New Jersey’s students, and students all across the country, deserve it.
