Senator Collins Hails Senate Passage Of Bipartisan Education Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C.— U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, voted in favor of the bipartisan Every Child Achieves Act (ECAA), which passed the Senate 81-17 this afternoon.

“Ensuring that each and every child in the United States receives an excellent education has long been one of my highest priorities,” said Senator Collins. “The Every Child Achieves Act strengthens the traditional roles played by our local educators, communities, and states and eliminates the pieces of No Child Left Behind that have proven unworkable. This bipartisan legislation will help provide students and teachers in Maine, and across the country, with the tools, resources, and increased flexibility they need for success.”

The ECAA will extend the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) which Senator Collins co-authored with former Senator Kent Conrad in 2002. This program provides financial assistance to small and high-poverty rural districts to help address unique local needs and meet federal requirements. This program has been particularly helpful in Maine and has supported a variety of initiatives that benefit students and teachers, including: new technology in classrooms, distance learning opportunities, and professional development activities.

In addition, the ECAA authorizes an Innovative Assessment and Accountability pilot program to support states designing assessment systems based on student proficiency. In April, the HELP Committee unanimously adopted a bipartisan amendment authored by Senator Collins to improve this program, including to allow more states to participate in the program, and to give participating school districts more time to scale up their systems statewide.

Earlier this month, Senator Collins spoke from the Senate floor urging her colleagues to support the bipartisan education bill.

Throughout Senator Collins time in the Senate, she has visited and read to children at nearly 200 schools across the state of Maine.