What federal responsibility should be pushed back to the states?, why?
Joan Fitz-Gerald:
The EPA is supposed to let states set higher standards instead they have blocked states like California from doing just that
Educational testing was already being done by many states , the feds should have set broad guidelines but not as punitive and prescriptive as No Child Left Behind.
Jared Polis:
The states are great incubators of innovation and we can learn what works to fight poverty, educate at-risk kids, etc, at the state and local level. We should then seek to replicate proven models at the national level. The federal government should fund the un-funded mandates for states and counties, but give states and counties flexibility in reaching program goals.
Will Shafroth:
I believe that the decision-making around public education should be returned to the states. The No Child Left Behind program has far too many unfunded mandates. For the 8% of school funding that the federal government provides, they ask far too much from states, local school districts, schools, and teachers. We need to return the authority for public education back to the local level – to the classroom -- so that individual student’s needs can be addressed and our children can get the quality education that they deserve.
