I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 524 

To prohibit the Federal Government from mandating, incentivizing, or coercing States to adopt the Common Core State Standards or any other 

specific academic standards, instructional content, curricula, assessments, 

or programs of instruction. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 26, 2015 

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. JONES, Mr. BROOKS of Alabama, Mr. RIBBLE, Mr. PALAZZO, Mr. MULVANEY, Mr. DESANTIS, Mr. 

KING of Iowa, Mr. NUNNELEE, Mr. MARCHANT, Mr. PITTENGER, Mr. 

CLAWSON of Florida, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. WALBERG, Mr. ROUZER, Mr. 

GIBBS, Mr. RICE of South Carolina, Mr. MOOLENAAR, Mr. BABIN, Mr. 

ROONEY of Florida, Mr. FINCHER, Mr. PEARCE, Mr. WESTERMAN, Mr. 

BURGESS, Mr. COOK, Mr. ZINKE, Mrs. LOVE, Mr. GOWDY, Mr. FLORES, 

Mr. GROTHMAN, Mr. SALMON, Mr. LOUDERMILK, Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania, Mr. GUINTA, Mr. ZELDIN, Mr. POMPEO, and Mr. HUDSON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To prohibit the Federal Government from mandating, 

incentivizing, or coercing States to adopt the Common 

Core State Standards or any other specific academic 

standards, instructional content, curricula, assessments, 

or programs of instruction. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Local Control of Edu3 cation Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. GENERAL ESEA PROHIBITION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9527 of the Elementary 

6 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7907) 

7 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(e) PROHIBITION OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MAN9 DATING COMMON STANDARDS, PROGRAMS OF INSTRUC10 TION, CURRICULA, ASSESSMENTS, OR ACADEMIC STAND11 ARDS.—An officer or employee of the Federal Government 

12 shall not directly or indirectly, through grants, contracts, 

13 or other cooperative agreements under this Act (including 

14 waivers under section 9401)— 

15 ‘‘(1) mandate, direct, or control a State, local 

16 educational agency, or school’s specific instructional 

17 content or any specific academic standard, assess18 ment, curriculum, or program of instruction, includ19 ing through any requirement, direction, condition, or 

20 mandate to adopt— 

21 ‘‘(A) the Common Core State Standards 

22 developed under the Common Core State Stand23 ards Initiative, any other academic standards 

24 common to a number of States, or any specific 

25 statewide or nationally recognized content 

26 standards; or 


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•HR 524 IH

1 ‘‘(B) any assessment, instructional content, 

2 or curriculum aligned to, or based on, specific 

3 academic standards, including any of the stand4 ards described in subparagraph (A); 

5 ‘‘(2) incentivize a State, local educational agen6 cy, or school to adopt any specific instructional con7 tent, academic standard, assessment, curriculum, 

8 commonality of standards or assessments, or pro9 gram of instruction described in paragraph (1), 

10 which shall include providing any priority, pref11 erence, or special consideration during the applica12 tion process based on any specific content, standard, 

13 assessment, curriculum, commonality, or program; 

14 or 

15 ‘‘(3) make financial support available in a man16 ner that is conditioned upon a State, local edu17 cational agency, or school’s adoption of any specific 

18 instructional content, academic standard, assess19 ment, curriculum, commonality of standards or as20 sessments, or program of instruction described in 

21 paragraph (1), even if such requirements are speci22 fied in section 14006 or 14007 of the American Re23 covery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 

24 111–5; 123 Stat. 281) or any other Act.’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 9527(a) of 

2 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

3 U.S.C. 7907(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘curriculum, pro4 gram of instruction, or’’. 

5 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON REQUIRING ADOPTION OF COM6 MON STANDARDS WITH RESPECT TO WAIV7 ERS. 

8 (a) PROHIBITION.—Section 9401 of the Elementary 

9 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7861) 

10 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(h) PROHIBITION ON REQUIRING CERTAIN STAND12 ARDS FOR WAIVERS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall not re14 quire that a State, local educational agency, Indian 

15 tribe, or school adopt, as a prerequisite or condition 

16 for any waiver under this section, any specific in17 structional content, academic standard, assessment, 

18 curriculum, or program of instruction, including— 

19 ‘‘(A) the Common Core State Standards 

20 developed under the Common Core State Stand21 ards Initiative, any other academic standards 

22 common to a number of States, or any specific 

23 statewide or nationally recognized content 

24 standards; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) any assessment, instructional content, 

2 or curriculum aligned to, or based on, any spe3 cific academic standards, including any of the 

4 standards described in subparagraph (A). 

5 ‘‘(2) EFFECT ON PREVIOUSLY ISSUED WAIV6 ERS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any requirement de8 scribed in paragraph (1) that was required for 

9 a waiver provided to a State, local educational 

10 agency, Indian tribe, or school under this sec11 tion before the date of enactment of the Local 

12 Control of Education Act shall be void and have 

13 no force of law. 

14 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITED ACTIONS.—The Sec15 retary shall not— 

16 ‘‘(i) enforce any requirement that is 

17 void pursuant to subparagraph (A); and 

18 ‘‘(ii) require the State, local edu19 cational agency, Indian tribe, or school to 

20 reapply for a waiver, or to agree to any 

21 other conditions to replace any require22 ments that is void pursuant to subpara23 graph (A), until the end of the period of 

24 time specified under the waiver. 


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1 ‘‘(C) NO EFFECT ON OTHER PROVI2 SIONS.—Any other provisions or requirements 

3 of a waiver provided under this section before 

4 the date of enactment of the Local Control of 

5 Education Act that are not affected by subpara6 graph (A) shall remain in effect for the period 

7 of time specified under the waiver.’’. 

8 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION IN RACE TO THE TOP FUNDING. 

9 Title XIV of Division A of the American Recovery 

10 and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–5) is 

11 amended by inserting after section 14007 the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 14007A. PROHIBITION ON REQUIRING OR PREFER13 RING COMMON STANDARDS. 

14 ‘‘The prohibitions of section 9527(e) of the Elemen15 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 shall apply to 

16 each grant awarded under section 14006 or 14007 in the 

17 same manner as such prohibitions apply to a grant award18 ed under such Act.’’. 

Æ 


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