For what may be the first time in his presidency, President Obama has actually reduced the power of the executive branch.
Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, signed by Obama on Thursday, the Secretary of Education cannot incentivize or punish states for adopting specific academic standards. The provision was sparked by complaints over the Department of Education’s waivers from federal penalties in No Child Left Behind. Using the waivers as leverage, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has dictated what state academic standards are and how they are measured.
The conditional waiver process pressured many states into adopting the Common Core academic standards before they were widely known by the public. Most (but not all) of the 42 states operating under Department of Education waivers have adopted Common Core.
The waiver process has drawn criticisms against the Department of Education acting as a “national school board,” as Senate education committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., called it. Alexander said the waiver process was akin to a “Common Core mandate” from the Department of Education.
All that ends with the Every Student Succeeds Act. Not only can the Department of Education no longer make waivers conditional, but waivers are now largely unnecessary. Previously, there was a federal definition of failing schools and federal prescriptions and penalties to fix them. Now, states are in control of deciding what a failing school is and how it has to be fixed.
Thankfully, this restriction on executive power will apply to all future presidents, regardless of party.
Obama’s decision to sign the bill was somewhat surprising, given the way it curtails his own executive power. Perhaps because he has only one year left in power he was okay with restricting executive power in exchange for testing changes favored by the national teachers unions. Duncan’s upcoming retirement at the end of the year may have been a factor as well.
Regardless of the reason, the act is one very small step forward in limiting the wide-ranging powers of the executive branch. Hopefully Obama will see the light and limit his own executive power over immigration, energy and other issues soon.
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
