WASHINGTON,
D.C. – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) said today that H.R. 1,
the Better Education for Students and Teachers Act, is “a strong, positive
step toward a new education system that focuses on preparing our youth
to make our world the best it can be.” H.R. 1, a comprehensive
education reform legislation, was adopted overwhelming by the House.
Below
is Schakowsky’s Congressional Record statement:
“Mr.
Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1, the reauthorization of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act. I support this bill because it
reauthorizes a broad array of targeted programs that work toward improving
public education. It focuses on maintaining high standards in every
classroom, strengthening teacher and principal quality, supporting a safe,
healthy, disciplined, and drug-free learning environment and improving
student performance.
“H.R.
1 will help to close the gap between disadvantaged children and their more
affluent peers, and between minority and non-minority students. The conference
report includes unprecedented targeting of Title I funds to the neediest
communities. The 50 school districts with the highest percentage of poor
students will receive a 10% increase in Title I funding solely as a result
of proposed Title I formula grants. In addition, Title I schools will receive
more funds due to increases in appropriations. Congress, and the country
at-large, cannot continue to ignore the gap between rich and poor and minority
and non-minority students. This bill represents a fight against the status
quo.
“H.R.
1 will ensure that all teachers are qualified to teach in the subject matter
for which they are responsible. The bill includes an authorization of $3.2
billion for teacher training and class-size reduction, a $1 billion (or
46%) increase from the FY 2001 funding level. It provides new resources
for mentoring, training, salary enhancement and other improvements.
We are supporting teachers by giving them the resources they need to do
their jobs. Our teachers will now be better prepared to give students the
tools and know-how to be successful students.
“H.R.
1 includes a historical 57% funding increase in bilingual education programs.
For the first time ever, our education legislation has recognized that
this country is growing closer and closer to our creed, E Pluribus Unum,
“Out of Many, One”. This bill will ensure that language barriers
will not leave our many immigrant and bilingual children behind.
“Additionally,
H.R. 1 contains no vouchers, no state block grants, and no repeal of after-school
programs and a section was added for school construction. The bill
also kept hate crimes programs and civil rights protections. Efforts
to hold schools accountable without providing the resources and protections
needed to meet high standards were defeated.
“I
contacted major disability groups, such as, The Arc and the Easter Seal
Society. These groups expressed their disappointment in the
loss of IDEA funding. The NEA, AFT, and NSBA offered similar opinions on
the bill. All three groups also express disappointment that Congress
could not agree to fulfill its promise to fully-fund IDEA at 40%.
Congress made a commitment 26 years ago to fund federally mandated special
education programs at 40 percent of average per pupil expenditures. By
simply fulfilling our promise to fully fund our share of IDEA, Congress
could improve public education three-fold. First, school districts
would have substantial resources freed up for other essential or innovative
educational programs. Second, we would remove the unpredictability
of the annual appropriations process, replacing confusion with stability
for local schools when formulating their budgets. And last but not least--we
would be giving special education students the tools needed to overcome
the many obstacles they face on a daily basis. Despite this shortcoming,
these groups support the goals of raising achievement, increasing accountability,
and improving teacher quality, and I agree with them.
“I
believe the education of the 21st century must change to suit different
learning styles and include a wider variety of programming that focuses
on the application of classroom lessons—math, science, social sciences--
to real world situations. Too often, lessons are taught in a way
that makes it difficult to connect book lessons to the real world; we must
better bridge this gap. In a world that evolves more closely everyday,
2nd language classes should be encouraged at early ages. We simply
must ensure that our education system keeps up with our world. We
are in a critical transition stage; new techniques, new ideas, and new
visions must be the order of the day, in order for our students to remain
competitive.
“We
have the opportunity to uncap a wealth of human resources that lay under-appreciated
and underestimated in urban and rural school districts across the country.
The next generation of great thinkers, writers, scientists, doctors, educators,
actors and lawmakers, are waiting for us to activate and motivate them.
It is our responsibility to devise a new definition of success. We
must let our students know that our future is nothing without them.
It is our responsibility to show them that there is a world that they can--not
only be a part of--but also change and improve. If we invest in our
students, we invest in a future of innovation and growth. The
H.R. 1 conference agreement is a strong, positive step toward a new education
system that focuses on preparing our youth to make our world the best it
can be. I urge all my colleagues to support the passage of this conference
report.” |