II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2967 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 2, 2014 

Mr. VITTER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Local Control of Edu5 cation Act’’. 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 2967 IS

1 SEC. 2. GENERAL ESEA PROHIBITION. 

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

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

4 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(e) PROHIBITION OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MAN6 DATING COMMON STANDARDS, PROGRAMS OF INSTRUC7 TION, CURRICULA, ASSESSMENTS, OR ACADEMIC STAND8 ARDS.—An officer or employee of the Federal Government 

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

10 or other cooperative agreements under this Act (including 

11 waivers under section 9401)— 

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

13 educational agency, or school’s specific instructional 

14 content or any specific academic standard, assess15 ment, curriculum, or program of instruction, includ16 ing through any requirement, direction, condition, or 

17 mandate to adopt— 

18 ‘‘(A) the Common Core State Standards 

19 developed under the Common Core State Stand20 ards Initiative, any other academic standards 

21 common to a number of States, or any specific 

22 statewide or nationally recognized content 

23 standards; or 

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

25 or curriculum aligned to, or based on, specific 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 2967 IS

1 academic standards, including any of the stand2 ards described in subparagraph (A); 

3 ‘‘(2) incentivize a State, local educational agen4 cy, or school to adopt any specific instructional con5 tent, academic standard, assessment, curriculum, 

6 commonality of standards or assessments, or pro7 gram of instruction described in paragraph (1), 

8 which shall include providing any priority, pref9 erence, or special consideration during the applica10 tion process based on any specific content, standard, 

11 assessment, curriculum, commonality, or program; 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(3) make financial support available in a man14 ner that is conditioned upon a State, local edu15 cational agency, or school’s adoption of any specific 

16 instructional content, academic standard, assess17 ment, curriculum, commonality of standards or as18 sessments, or program of instruction described in 

19 paragraph (1), even if such requirements are speci20 fied in section 14006 or 14007 of the American Re21 covery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 

22 111–5; 123 Stat. 281) or any other Act.’’. 

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

24 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 2967 IS

1 U.S.C. 7907(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘curriculum, pro2 gram of instruction, or’’. 

3 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON REQUIRING ADOPTION OF COM4 MON STANDARDS WITH RESPECT TO WAIV5 ERS. 

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

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

8 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(h) PROHIBITION ON REQUIRING CERTAIN STAND10 ARDS FOR WAIVERS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall not re12 quire that a State, local educational agency, Indian 

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

14 for any waiver under this section, any specific in15 structional content, academic standard, assessment, 

16 curriculum, or program of instruction, including— 

17 ‘‘(A) the Common Core State Standards 

18 developed under the Common Core State Stand19 ards Initiative, any other academic standards 

20 common to a number of States, or any specific 

21 statewide or nationally recognized content 

22 standards; or 

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

24 or curriculum aligned to, or based on, any speVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Dec 02, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2967.IS S2967

SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 2967 IS

1 cific academic standards, including any of the 

2 standards described in subparagraph (A). 

3 ‘‘(2) EFFECT ON PREVIOUSLY ISSUED WAIV4 ERS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any requirement de6 scribed in paragraph (1) that was required for 

7 a waiver provided to a State, local educational 

8 agency, Indian tribe, or school under this sec9 tion before the date of enactment of the Local 

10 Control of Education Act shall be void and have 

11 no force of law. 

12 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITED ACTIONS.—The Sec13 retary shall not— 

14 ‘‘(i) enforce any requirement that is 

15 void pursuant to subparagraph (A); and 

16 ‘‘(ii) require the State, local edu17 cational agency, Indian tribe, or school to 

18 reapply for a waiver, or to agree to any 

19 other conditions to replace any require20 ments that is void pursuant to subpara21 graph (A), until the end of the period of 

22 time specified under the waiver. 

23 ‘‘(C) NO EFFECT ON OTHER PROVI24 SIONS.—Any other provisions or requirements 

25 of a waiver provided under this section before 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 2967 IS

1 the date of enactment of the Local Control of 

2 Education Act that are not affected by subpara3 graph (A) shall remain in effect for the period 

4 of time specified under the waiver.’’. 

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

6 Title XIV of Division A of the American Recovery 

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

8 amended by inserting after section 14007 the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 14007A. PROHIBITION ON REQUIRING OR PREFER10 RING COMMON STANDARDS. 

11 ‘‘The prohibitions of section 9527(e) of the Elemen12 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 shall apply to 

13 each grant awarded under section 14006 or 14007 in the 

14 same manner as such prohibitions apply to a grant award15 ed under such Act.’’. 

Æ 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS