On Wednesday, February 5, Chairman Tim Wahlberg (R-MI) led the House Education and Workforce Committee’s first full committee hearing titled The State of American Education. Pitched as an “examination” of K-12 education in the U.S., testimonies were presented by four witnesses: Mrs. Nicole Neily (President, Parents Defending Education), Dr. Preston Cooper (Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute), Mrs. Janai Nelson (President and Director-Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense Fund), and Mr. Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. (President and CEO, Society for Human Resource Management). The hearing highlighted concerns about declining student performance and the need to refocus on core academic subjects and surfaced the ongoing debate over the effectiveness of federal oversight in education via the Department of Education. Private school choice was a contentious issue – praised by Republican committee members for expanding student opportunities but criticized by Democrats for weakening public school budgets and fostering segregation. Lawmakers across the aisle agreed on the importance of expanding access to career and technical education, improving support for students with disabilities, and the importance of finding functional solutions that will improve the state of education in America.

Watch the full hearing here.