Opinion: Opt Out of No Child Left Behind Another Example of Big Government Failure, Thompson Says

Editor's note: The following is a press release and statement issued by State Sen. Dave Thompson (R-District 36) of Lakeville, regarding the request by Governor Mark Dayton to waive the state from federal No Child Left Behind requirements.

The Star Tribune is reporting that Governor Mark Dayton has agreed to ask the Obama administration for a temporary waiver of certain No Child Left Behind (NCLB) testing requirements. The Governor made the move in response to the request of Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius.

“I am glad to see that Governor Dayton recognizes the inherent problems with this onerous federal takeover of education policy," Thompson said in response. "The failure of NCLB is yet another illustration of the ineffectiveness of big government solutions to problems that are best handled by individuals or local governments."

Thompson also said, "President George W. Bush’s NCLB program has been a total disaster. Now, federal testing requirements tend to dictate content, teaching methods, and allocation of class time. There seems to be almost no correlation between NCLB testing outcomes and actual school performance. Teachers and local educators, not politicians and bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., should determine curricula, academic standards, and testing requirements. It is time to jettison NCLB and get the federal government out of the education business all together.”