Assemblyman Dave McDonough (R,C,I-Merrick) today applauded the recent federal push to shift the education curriculum to a more decentralized and locally-controlled system. McDonough commended House and Senate members for tailoring bi-partisan education policy in such a way that states and school districts have more control over how reading and math tests, mandated by No Child Left Behind, are used to measure school and student performance. The modifications also prohibit the federal government from encouraging any specific set of standards.

“I commend congressional legislators for putting the power to develop curricula and teacher evaluations back into the hands of our school districts,” McDonough said. “I have long fought for local control of schools and against the botched implementation of the Common Core standards that schools and teachers have been fighting for many months. The shift away from centralized education policy shows that we cannot continue with this one-size-fits-all mentality, and that classroom decisions should be made by teachers and parents, not faceless bureaucrats. My hope is that New York will follow this model and continue working to reform the Common Core standards into a more teacher-, parent- and student-friendly version.”

McDonough’s comments come after a New York Times article was published Tuesday detailing the shift in education policy. McDonough has been a leading opponent of the Common Core standards and serves on the Assembly Education Committee.