I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 755 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to prohibit 

Federal mandates, direction, or control, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 5, 2015 

Mrs. ROBY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

of 1965 to prohibit Federal mandates, direction, or control, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Defending State Au5 thority Over Education Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. VOLUNTARY PARTNERSHIPS. 

7 Section 1111(k) of the Elementary and Secondary 

8 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(k)) is amended 

9 by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Except that the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:14 Feb 12, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H755.IH H755

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1 retary shall not attempt to influence, incentivize, or coerce 

2 State participation in any such partnerships.’’. 

3 SEC. 3. SPECIFIC LIMITATIONS. 

4 Section 9401 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu5 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7861) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating subsections (e), (f), and 

7 (g), as subsections (f), (g), and (h), respectively; and 

8 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol9 lowing new subsection: 

10 ‘‘(e) SPECIFIC LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary shall 

11 not require a State educational agency, local educational 

12 agency, or Indian tribe, as a condition of approval of a 

13 waiver request, to— 

14 ‘‘(1) include in, or delete from, such request, 

15 specific academic standards; 

16 ‘‘(2) use specific academic assessment instru17 ments or items; or 

18 ‘‘(3) include in, or delete from, such waiver re19 quest any criterion that specifies, defines, or pre20 scribes the standards or measures that a State or 

21 local educational agency or Indian tribe uses to es22 tablish, implement, or improve— 

23 ‘‘(A) State academic standards; 

24 ‘‘(B) academic assessments; 

25 ‘‘(C) State accountability systems; or 


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1 ‘‘(D) teacher and school leader evaluation 

2 systems.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION AGAINST FEDERAL MANDATES, DI4 RECTION, OR CONTROL. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart 2 of part E of title IX 

6 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

7 (20 U.S.C. 7901 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 

8 section 9526 the following new section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 9526A. PROHIBITION AGAINST FEDERAL MANDATES, 

10 DIRECTION, OR CONTROL. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No officer or employee of the 

12 Federal Government shall, directly or indirectly, through 

13 grants, contracts, or other cooperative agreements, man14 date, direct, or control a State, local educational agency, 

15 or school’s specific instructional content, academic stand16 ards and assessments, curricula, or program of instruc17 tion, nor shall anything in this Act be construed to author18 ize such officer or employee to do so. 

19 ‘‘(b) FINANCIAL SUPPORT.—No officer or employee 

20 of the Federal Government shall, directly or indirectly, 

21 through grants, contracts, or other cooperative agree22 ments, make financial support available in a manner that 

23 is conditioned upon a State, local educational agency, or 

24 school’s adoption of specific instructional content, aca25 demic standards and assessments, curriculum, or program 


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1 of instruction even if such requirements are specified in 

2 an Act other than this Act, nor shall anything in this Act 

3 be construed to authorize such officer or employee to do 

4 so.’’. 

5 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

6 for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

7 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

8 9526 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 9526A. Prohibition against Federal mandates, direction, or control.’’. 

Æ 


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