Press Releases

Homerville, GA – Congressman Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (GA-1) touted his efforts to reform education by turning power back to states, school systems, and parents this week as visited Clinch County Elementary and Middle Schools in Homerville. During the stop the freshman representative spoke with teachers, students, and school system leaders about the need to craft local solutions rather than rely on one-size-fits-all mandates out of Washington. “Students in Clinch County and all around Georgia are best served by education plans crafted by those who know them best: parents, teachers, and communities,” said Carter. “I’m fighting to take power away from Washington bureaucrats and return it where it belongs. Doing so will help tap the potential I see in these students and all those I meet with as I travel across our district.” Serving on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, Carter helped advance legislation earlier this year that would: • replace national accountability scheme based on high stakes testing with state-led accountability systems for measuring student and school performance; • prevent the Department of Education from forcing states into adopting Common Core or any other nationalized standards; • ensure parents have the information they need to hold local schools accountable; • eliminate more than 65 ineffective, duplicative, and unnecessary programs, replacing them with a Local Academic Flexible grant to help schools support students; • empower parents with more school choice options by continuing support for magnet and charter school opportunities; and • strengthen efforts to improve student performance among targeted student populations, including English learners and homeless children. After the visit, Carter said he was impressed with what he saw. “It’s always great to be in Homerville but especially to be at a school here at the beginning of the school year,” he said. “I love getting to speak with the students, hear about their interests, and see the optimism in their eyes. Their optimism is infections and helped restore my hope for the future and desire to continue my work to ensure they have the same or better opportunities than those who came before them.” Carter was sworn in to his first term in Congress earlier this year representing the First Congressional District of Georgia which encompasses all or part of 17 counties in Southeast Georgia including Clinch County. ###