School decisions must be made close to home

• I voted for the Every Student Succeeds Act, which shifts the dynamics of power back to the states

My wife, Jacquie, and I are the proud parents of seven wonderful children, so it is fair to say we have had a lot of interaction with Minnesota’s public school system.

Thankfully, our children had access to an excellent education. Unfortunately, not all children across the country are as lucky. Every parent should have the confidence that their child, regardless of background or Zip code, will have access to an excellent education.

I fully believe our country’s education system should be as diverse and individual-oriented as the people it serves. But most importantly, I believe decisions made in our education system need to be done closer to home — by the parents, the teachers and the community leaders who know their children better than Washington bureaucrats.

Unfortunately, while the federal government’s involvement in public schools has been at an all-time high, student achievement is not. I support localizing control of education, and have long been a supporter of a school choice system that would allow parents to send their children to the public, private or religious schools of their choice. Education decisions belong in the hands of parents, teachers, PTAs and school boards — not in Washington.

We also need to pave the way for new and innovative teaching tools that provide every student a tailored approach to learning. Minnesota is home to excellent public, private, magnet, charter and online schools that give children with many different types of learning needs the ability to exceed. In fact, the nation’s first charter school was started in Minnesota.

To recognize and celebrate variety and opportunity within our country’s education system, I recently joined millions across the country in celebrating School Choice Week. I spent time in Minnesota’s Sixth District meeting with students and educators at Cologne Academy, Kaleidoscope Charter School and St. Joseph Catholic School. These schools have different programs, different teaching styles and different children, yet they each are successful in their own way.

I also spent time with Minnesota’s Superintendent of the Year, Daniel Bittman, when he joined me in Washington, D.C. as my guest to the State of the Union. Bittman has served as the superintendent of Sauk Rapids-Rice public schools since 2010, and, because of him, students in that school district are performing at a higher level and are thriving within a more engaged and supportive community.

We need to applaud variety, not stifle it. What works in California, might not necessarily be the best fit in Minnesota, and what works in St. Cloud, may not work in Red Wing. This is why I have voted to bring more choice back to Minnesota and more power to the decision-makers within our state.

Last year, I voted for the Every Student Succeeds Act, which shifts the dynamics of power back to the states themselves. Like many pieces of legislation, this bill is not perfect, and our work is not over. However, it is a much-needed improvement from the overly rigid No Child Left Behind.

ESSA prioritizes funding to expand access to alternative schools such as charter and magnet schools. It also empowers parents to make the decision on what type school will best fit their child’s needs.

More importantly, ESSA puts an end to Common Core coercion from our federal government. In fact, this legislation allows states to actually opt-out of Common Core without penalty. Schools will now be able to focus on doing what schools exist to do without the federal government looking over their shoulder.

Minnesotans want control of their students’ education, and Congress agrees, which is precisely why I joined my colleagues in sending control over curriculum, standards and student achievement back to the states and out of the hands of the federal government.

This is the opinion of 6th District U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer, a Republican elected to the House in 2014.