{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=8fb29c35-77e4-4224-8a5a-ce87981dfd07", "Fischer Supports Major Education Reform", "2015-12-09", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  This morning, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed The Every Student Succeeds Act  the conference report accompanying the Senates education bill by a vote of 85-12. U.S. Senator Deb Fischers (R-Neb.) bipartisan local governance amendment was included in the conference agreement. Senator Fischer released the following statement after final passage:\r\nOnce again, the Senate has passed significant, bipartisan legislation showing we can come together and get major things done for the American people. Through this bill, control over education decisions will return to parents, teachers, and local school districts who are best equipped to ensure future generations will have the skills they need to succeed. Importantly, the final bill also eliminates the flawed common core mandate.\r\nI was also proud to see my local governance amendment incorporated into the final agreement, which will empower local communities, not bureaucrats in Washington, to make the education decisions they see fit for their students.\r\nMatthew Blomstedt, Nebraska Commissioner of Education, released the following statement praising passage of the conference committee report on the Every Student Succeeds Act:\r\nI am pleased to see that the United States Senate has taken action to approve the Every Student Succeeds Act. I am appreciative of the work by Senator Fischer in making this happen so that Nebraska can continue our work on Accountability for a Quality Education System, Today and Tomorrow (AQuESTT) and tailor interventions to address unique local needs of our Nebraska schools so that we can serve every student, every day.\r\nThe Every Student Succeeds Act will now head to the presidents desk for his signature. The bill ends waivers, the common core mandate, and the federal test-based accountability system. It repeals the adequate yearly progress (AYP) federal accountability system and replaces it with a state-designed accountability system.\r\nFor years, policies resulting from the No Child Left Behind law have caused over-testing and forced educators to teach to the test rather than provide students with the knowledge and tools they need. By ending the federal test-based accountability system, the Every Student Succeeds Act would give states the ability to determine how to use federally required tests for accountability purposes.\r\nIncluded in the Every Student Succeeds Act is Senator Fischers local governance amendment. This bipartisan amendment, which Senator Fischer worked on with Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.), ensures that local school districts are not coerced into adopting misguided education requirements and prevents federal intrusion into how local schools are governed. It also ensures local stakeholders have a stronger voice in both the regulatory and guidance processes.\r\nOn July 16, 2015, the Senate passed S. 1177  the Every Child Achieves Act, by a vote of 81-17. The bicameral conference committee agreed to file the conference report on November 19 by a vote of 38-1.\r\nThe following groups endorsed the Senates education bill that passed in July: the Nebraska Association of School Boards, the Nebraska Rural Community Schools Association, the Nebraska Association of School Administrators, the Nebraska State Board of Education, the Nebraska State Education Association, and the Greater Nebraska Schools Association. To read their statements of support, click here to see Senator Fischers press release from July.\r\nClick here to watch Senator Fischers floor speech\r\nfrom July on her local governance amendment.\r\nClick here for text Senator Fischers amendment and here for a summary.\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=8fb29c35-77e4-4224-8a5a-ce87981dfd07"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.086268573999405, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}