Washington ? Congress should streamline education laws and give states more flexibility to better prepare students for work in a technology-driven economy, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius told a U.S. Senate committee Thursday.

Sebelius, a Democrat, said federal laws were too often written in a vacuum, without taking into account the requirements of other related laws or allowing states the flexibility to meet specific needs.

“What we’re concerned with is that a one-size-fits-all program, with rigid regulation and service delivery structures, doesn’t really work well for states across the country,” Sebelius said.

Sebelius was among a panel of state and federal officials invited to testify before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on how to restructure education and training programs to meet the needs of a changing economy.

The Senate is considering legislation intended to raise student achievement levels and help older workers as they change careers and learn new skills to compete in the work force. One of the goals is to give states more flexibility in managing federal program dollars.

Sebelius said some federal laws should be changed to eliminate redundant requirements for states to report information and collect data. Saying each state has different needs, she urged lawmakers to relieve some mandates currently in place, such as amount of funds to be spent on specific categories or groups.

Labor Secretary Elaine Chao said at the hearing that the Bush administration supports giving state and local communities more flexibility in designing systems for worker training. State and local officials should play a greater role in governing the work force investment system to avoid micromanagement by federal officials, she said.

Sebelius chairs the National Governor’s Assn. committee on education, early childhood development and work force training, which has studied the issue of better coordinating education laws.