House Education Committee Introduces Resolution to Block Teacher Prep Rules
By Brittany Hackett, Communications Staff
Republican leadership on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on Thursday introduced a resolution to block implementation of regulations related to teacher preparation programs.
The resolution of disapproval was introduced under the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to pass such resolutions to prevent a federal agency from implementing a rule, with the full force of the law. The agency also cannot issue a similar rule without authorization from Congress.
The resolution to block the teacher preparation rules—H.J. Res. 58—was introduced by Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY). Under the rules, states would have to report annually on the placement and retention of graduates in their first three years of teaching and assessment of their preparation. TEACH Grants would be limited to programs that states determine to be effective for at least two of the previous three years.
The rules “ignore the principles guiding recent bipartisan education reforms and would actually make it more difficult for state and local leaders to help ensure teachers are ready to succeed,” Guthrie, chairman of the Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee, said in a statement. “This resolution will roll back those misguided rules and give us the opportunity to examine teacher preparation in the context of higher education reauthorization.”
Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA), the ranking member of the Subcomittee, issued a statement criticizing the resolution.
"I'm concerned that my colleagues seem intent on taking away crucial protections that ensure quality and accountability for our teacher preparation programs,” Davis said in a statement. “These protections reflect and build on local successes and incorporate meaningful feedback from teachers, giving support and guidance to future educators. Furthermore, they work to guarantee that taxpayer funded TEACH Grants are only given to high quality institutions that benefit students. … Ultimately, if my Republican colleagues have concerns about these protections there are more productive means of addressing the specifics without throwing them out altogether. A Congressional Review Act amounts to using a sword where a scalpel should be used."
The resolution of disapproval comes days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that seeks to scale back federal regulations. Under the order, for every new regulation created, departments and agencies must identify two rules or regulations that can be repealed—a move Trump repeatedly promised he would act on during his campaign. The order also requires that the cost of any new regulations, combined with those repealed, "shall be no greater than zero" for fiscal year 2017.
Publication Date: 2/3/2017
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