Sen. Daines introduces bill to give states more control over education spending

U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines reintroduced the “Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success Act” or the “A-PLUS Act” Friday to give Montanans more say over how their tax dollars are spent on education.

“Montana parents and teachers know what Montana students need best,” Sen. Daines said. “We should empower state and local leaders to have more of a say in the classroom, and keep D.C. bureaucrats and the federal government out of it.”

Montana Superintendent Elsie Arntzen weighed in, saying, “‘The A Plus Act’ is about more than removing burdens and giving schools flexibility. The ‘A Plus Act’ is about preserving local control and the Montana way of life. The need to provide flexibility to our schools should be more clear now than ever. I want to thank Senator Daines for his commitment to empowering our local leaders, students and their families.”

The “A-PLUS Act” is aimed at giving states greater flexibility in allocating federal education funding and helping academic achievement. It would work to reduce the administrative and compliance burdens on state and local education agencies, and ensure greater public transparency about the use of federal education funds and student academic achievement.

Sen. Daines said that under the “A-PLUS Act”, states would be allowed to obtain federal education funding in the form of block grants. States could choose to participate or they could continue to administer their education programs in the current manner.

This bill has also been endorsed by the Heritage Foundation, FreedomWorks and the American Federation for Children.

You can read the full bill here.