Issue: H.R. 276, Recognizing Achievement in Classified School Employees Act. Question: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass (2/3 vote required).
Result: Passed, 387 to 19, 25 not voting. Agreed to in Senate by Unanimous Consent (3-28-19). Became Public Law 116-13 (signed by the President, 4-12-19). GOP and Democrats Scored.
Freedom First Society: This proposed federally managed recognition program constitutes a small step in further solidifying the subversive and unconstitutional federal influence over state and local public education.
America desperately needs congressmen who will work to undo destructive federal usurpations of authority, rather than going along and accepting them.
We have assigned (good vote) to the Nays and (bad vote) to the Yeas. (P = voted present; ? = not voting; blank = not listed on roll call.)
Bill Summary: H.R. 276 directs the Secretary of Education to establish the “Recognizing Inspiring School Employees (RISE) Award Program” recognizing excellence exhibited by classified school employees providing services to students in prekindergarten through high school.
The term “classified school employee” means an employee of a State or of any political subdivision of a State, or an employee of a nonprofit entity, who works in any grade from prekindergarten through high school in any of the following occupational specialties: (A) Paraprofessional, including paraeducator services. (B) Clerical and administrative services. (C) Transportation services. (D) Food and nutrition services. (E) Custodial and maintenance services. (F) Security services. (G) Health and student services. (H) Technical services. (I) Skilled trades.
The Secretary of Education shall solicit nominations of classified school employees from the occupational specialties described from the Governor of each State. The Governor of the State shall consider nominations submitted by the following: (i) Local educational agencies. (ii) School administrators. (iii) Professional associations. (iv) Labor organizations. (v) Educational service agencies. (vi) Nonprofit entities. (vii) Parents and students. (viii) Any other group determined appropriate by the Secretary.
Each such nomination shall contain, at a minimum demonstrations of excellence in the following areas: (A) Work performance. (B) School and community involvement. (C) Leadership and commitment. (D) Local support. (E) Enhancement of classified school employees’ image in the community and schools.
Analysis: While many classified school employees undoubtedly deserve recognition for their efforts, a federal program is improper. In particular, the proposal supports the ongoing accumulation of unconstitutional power in Washington.
America’s founding fathers would be appalled at such a perversion of federal responsibility and authority. They recognized a real need for a federal government. But they also recognized the danger in empowering such a government. So they attempted to limit the federal government’s authority by enumerating its powers in a Constitution and providing checks and balances to discourage usurpation of authority.
Involvement in educating the next generation of citizens is not one of those authorized powers. At one time that was widely understood. Then concern over the Soviet’s successful launch of Sputnik in October 1957 allowed the federal government to get involved. Congress responded the following year by passing the “National Defense and Education Act,” ostensibly to help catch up with the Soviets in the technology race.
The Subversive Goal of Education Control
Federal involvement has since expanded to the point where federal deep pockets now impose a Leftist “political correctness” on educational institutions nationwide.
Revolutionaries have long sought to have government take control of the education of our youth, away from parents, as a means to transform society. In 1932, U.S. Communist Party leader William Z. Foster wrote:
“The schools, colleges, and universities will be coordinated and grouped under the National Department of Education and its State and local branches. The schools will be revolutionized, being cleansed of religious, patriotic and other features of the bourgeois ideology.”
Insiders at the Council on Foreign Relations have also long sought to centralize government control of education in Washington (see Masters of Deception, Chapter 13).