We've opposed the No Child Left Behind Act since it became law 10 years ago. In the guise of improving school standards in kindergarten through 12th grade, it greatly expanded federal control over schools, usurping state and local authority.

Congress now is working to revamp NCLB. According to The Associated Press, a bipartisan agreement has been worked out between leaders of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. However, the bill is one of those gargantuan jobs Congress is fond of enacting — in this case 860 pages so far. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., a former U.S. education secretary, said it still involves too much federal meddling.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a Tea Party favorite, plans to offer a slew of amendments to make the bill less onerous. Congress hopes to have something passed by both houses by the end of the year.

NCLB has been a decade-long failure, said Lisa Snell, director of education at the California-based Reason Foundation. "Low-achieving students still are not achieving," she told Freedom Communications. She said the real problem is not the need for effective national standards but for competition among schools at the local level, especially through charter schools and vouchers.

As it happens, the Okaloosa County School Board in Florida voted this week to approve applications to establish two charter schools in Valparaiso. The vote was unanimous, but some board members weren't happy about it.

"We don't really have any choice," said board member Cindy Frakes. "This is not that we're advocating for charter schools that are directly competing with our schools."

Sorry, but direct competition is the whole idea.

Snell said the best national model could be New Orleans. After Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of the city in 2005, including school buildings, reforms emphasized charters. The city now boasts that 80 percent of its schools are charters.

We encourage members of Congress to closely scrutinize all legislation related to NCLB to make sure regulations are reduced, not increased; and to ensure that no roadblocks are thrown in front of the charter school movement. Parents and kids need choice, not more red tape.

REPRINTED FROM THE NORTHWEST FLORIDA DAILY NEWS