 |
| Wilson Calls For Common Sense In Public Schools With GI Bill |
June 14, 2000 |
| |
Wilson hopes supporters of the amendment will serve as core group to build a broader coalition to pass bipartisan education reform measures
WASHINGTON, DC – Calling on her colleagues to “lower our voices and raise our sights” on improving public education, Congresswoman Heather Wilson offered an amendment on the House floor today to pass common sense and effective education reform. Although her amendment to provide $25 million to fund scholarships for future teachers, known as the GI Bill for Teachers, fell short of the necessary votes to pass, the bipartisan coalition of members that joined her effort will serve as the core of a continuing effort to pass meaningful education reforms. The vote on the Wilson amendment was 157 to 267.
In offering her amendment Wilson said, “I recognize that some may oppose this amendment for partisan political reasons and others, from my own party, for ideological reasons. It is time to lower our voices and raise our sights on public education in this country. We must turn away from ideology and partisanship to embrace the greatest challenge facing America in the twenty first century: public education.”
“Great teachers are the cornerstone of all good schools. The more we can do to bring bright young people with a gift for teaching into the profession, the better chance we have of making our schools the envy of the world. I will also continue to push for adoption of my plan to create a federal loan guarantee fund for charter schools. By investing in innovative ideas like charter schools we can begin to give parents the choices they deserve and more importantly children the quality education they need,” concluded Wilson.
Under Wilson’s proposal, students at the University of New Mexico School of Education and others seeking to become teachers could be eligible for a $10,000 annual scholarship to pay for college expenses. In return for the scholarship, the students would commit to teaching 2 years for every year of scholarship assistance, not to exceed 6 years per recipient.
The idea for the new proposal by Congresswoman Wilson came during the congressional field hearing that she organized in January. During the hearing, a number of education experts from New Mexico expressed concern about the growing shortage of qualified teachers facing schools across the state. As a result of numerous follow-up meetings and consultations with local education officials, Wilson settled on this scholarship plan as a way to help encourage more young people to enter the teaching profession.
The following is an outline of H.R. 4486 provisions:
* High school graduates or certified teachers pursuing additional education would be eligible for up to 5 years
* $10,000 scholarship for full-time students and a $5,000 scholarship for part-time students per year
* Scholarship recipients commit to teaching 2 years for every year of scholarship assistance, not to exceed 6 years per recipient
* The state may set aside 35% of scholarships for applicants who will commit to programs of study that will address teacher shortages
* The bill would authorize $260,000,000 in federal funding for the first year of the program—enough for about 2,500 full time scholarships nationwide, or about 250 per year for New Mexicans.
Wilson’s amendment would have started the program this year with a $25 million appropriation subject to passage of the “G.I. Bill” at a later date.
--END-- |
|
|
|