New Hampshire senators Jeanne Shaheen and Kelly Ayotte are supporting a rewrite of the education law known as No Child Left Behind that aims to give power back to the states.
They joined 79 other senators Thursday in passing the bill. Both say it will help restore local control in education. The senators also supported amendments to better promote science, technology, engineering and math education and to address mental health and substance abuse issues.
The bill passed by the Senate leaves in place annual testing but prohibits the federal government from encouraging specific education standards such as Common Core.
No Child Left Behind passed more than a decade ago and its accountability measures have been sharply criticized. The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a separate rewrite of the law.
