In the 45th District, we are fortunate to have great schools and teachers who are results-oriented and focused on children and their futures. However, rather than empowering these local educators to help them reach and teach their students, Springfield progressives tie their hands and force mandate after mandate upon them. These mandates, combined with a series of new laws that strip away local control of what is taught in our schools, have made our educational system nearly unrecognizable.

Springfield needs to step aside and let locally elected school boards make decisions that best reflect the priorities of each unique community. I firmly believe in local control and oppose efforts to impose one-size-fits-all policies and mandates within our education system.

We need to prepare our youth for post-high school life. We should not be forcing liberal political ideologies on them or mandating instruction on issues better taught in the home.