H.R. 4008 — Introduced in House

I 113th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 4008 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 6, 2014Mr. Gingrey of Georgia introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce A BILL To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to prohibit Federal mandates, direction, or control of specific instructional content, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Educational Freedom Act of 2014. 2. Prohibition against Federal mandates, direction, or control Subpart 2 of part E of title IX of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7901 et seq.) is amended— (1) by redesignating sections 9534, 9535, and 9536 (20 U.S.C. 7914, 7915, and 7916), as sections 9535, 9536, and 9537, respectively; and (2) by inserting after section 9533 (20 U.S.C. 7913) the following: 9534. Prohibition against Federal mandates, direction, or control (a) In general No officer or employee of the Federal Government shall, directly or indirectly, through grants, contracts, or other cooperative agreements, mandate, direct, incentivize, or control a State’s, local educational agency’s, or school’s specific instructional content, academic standards and assessments, curricula, or program of instruction (including through any requirement, direction, incentive, or mandate to adopt the Common Core State Standards developed under the Common Core State Standards Initiative or any other academic standards common to a significant number of States) nor shall any provision of this Act be construed to authorize such an officer or employee to do so. (b) Financial support No officer or employee of the Federal Government shall, directly or indirectly, through grants, contracts, or other cooperative agreements, make financial support available in a manner that is conditioned upon a State’s, local educational agency’s, or school’s adoption of specific instructional content, academic standards and assessments, curriculum, or program of instruction (including any requirement, direction, or mandate to adopt the Common Core State Standards developed under the Common Core State Standards Initiative, any other academic standards common to a significant number of States, or any assessment, instructional content, or curriculum aligned to such standards) even if such requirements are specified in an Act other than this Act, nor shall any provision of this Act be construed to authorize such an officer or employee to do so. .