Education

Senator Lieberman has spearheaded efforts to reform America's educational system by boosting federal funding, expanding access to quality education, challenging educators to raise standards, insisting on accountability in our public schools, and providing all Americans with the skills to compete in the global economy through the introduction of innovative legislation.

For the latest developments on Senator Lieberman's work on education issues, click here.

Skip to: Innovation | Education Reform | Instructional Technology | Higher Education | Charter Schools | Other School Reforms

Innovation

In 2007, Senator Lieberman joined the Senate leadership in introducing the comprehensive bipartisan America COMPETES Act that addresses the challenges keeping the U.S. competitive in a global economy. The Act passed the Senate by a vote of 88-8 and was signed into law by President Bush, becoming Public Law 110-69. This law includes many of the provisions of the National Innovations Act (NIA), and the National Innovation Education Act (NIEA) authored by Senators Lieberman and Ensign. The NIA and the NIEA were based largely on the recommendations of the Council on Competitiveness and the National Academies "Rising Above the Gathering Storm" report.  Both reports made clear that we owe the economic vitality of the nation depends on the productivity of highly-trained people and the innovations they produce, and highlighted the need to spur research and innovation, and to enhance training in  STEM fields--science, technology, engineering, and mathematics--to ensure that our workforce has the skills necessary to compete in the global marketplace. 

Among the provisions of the America COMPETES Act were many initiatives long advocated by Senator Lieberman, including measures to help ensure that high school graduates are prepared to succeed in college; to increase the number of students graduating with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields; to provide professional development for current teachers in these subjects; to enhance state education data systems so that we can improve public education at all levels; and to increase funding for innovative research across federal agencies. Also included in the America COMPETES Act is a section reauthorizing and increasing funding for the National Science Foundation's Tech Talent Act (now known as the STEM Talent Expansion Program or STEP), a program authored by Senator Lieberman to support innovative higher education programs designed to increase the number of graduates in STEM fields.

Since enactment of the America COMPETES Act Senator Lieberman has worked to ensure that its provisions are adequately funded. In addition, to further enhance STEM education in America, on July 24, 2008, Senators Lieberman and Coleman introduced S. 3324, the STEM Education for the 21st Century Act. This bill was based on the recommendations of the National Science Board’s National Action Plan, and sought to 1) charter an independent, non-Federal National Council on STEM Education to facilitate the flow of information about STEM education among various stakeholders, evaluate areas for improvement in the nation’s STEM education system, and improve Federal coordination with and service to state and local agencies; 2) establish a full Committee on STEM education within the National Science and Technology Council to coordinate STEM policy between Federal agencies; and 3) direct the Department of Education to undergo a comprehensive review of the coherence and effectiveness of its programs relating to STEM fields.

Education Reform

In 2001 Senator Lieberman worked hard to enact the No Child Left Behind law to guarantee that every child receives the attention he or she needs to succeed and excel in school and the workplace. He believes that improving our education system is a moral imperative. In 2007 he held roundtable discussions to gather input from citizens and educators in Connecticut.

On July 18, 2007, Senator Lieberman (ID-CT), along with Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN), unveiled legislation aimed at reauthorizing and improving the current No Child Left Behind law. The Senators announced the All Students Can Achieve Act of 2007 (ASCA), introduced on August 3, 2007 as S. 2001, which focused on improving teacher effectiveness and raising education standards for America's students. The Senators were joined at a press conference by former Georgia Governor Roy Barnes of the Aspen Institute's Commission on No Child Left Behind, Chancellor Joel Klein of the New York City Public Schools and Chancellor Michelle Rhee of the Washington, DC Public Schools.

ASCA proposed a number of important improvements to the No Child Left Behind law, while continuing its goal of ensuring that each and every student in America's public schools get a first-rate education. One of the bill's important aims was to increase teacher quality by more accurately measuring teacher success, improving teacher training and support, and encouraging the best and brightest to enter the teaching profession. Instead of the traditional focus on certification systems and years of experience, teachers should be evaluated, among other things, by the demonstrated improvement of the students in their classrooms.

States and districts should be encouraged to place their most talented teachers in the schools that need the most help, so that the quality of a child's education does not depend on where he or she lives. State and local officials should also be free to experiment with recruitment initiatives and incentive systems to encourage bright, talented individuals to enter the teaching profession.

Senator Lieberman strongly supported the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009. This law authorized the Race To the Top (RTTT) program which included many provisions similar to those advocated in Senator Lieberman’s ASCA bill. Among other things, ARRA seeks to encourage states to raise education standards and assessments, to evaluate teacher effectiveness in part based on demonstrated ability to improve student achievement, to enhance state education data systems, and to encourage charter schools. He will continue to pursue these goals as Congress moves towards reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

For more information on "All Students Can Achieve," click here.

Instructional Technology

Senator Lieberman believes technology has been a driving force behind globalization. It is apparent that around the country more and more States are recognizing the importance of technology in the classroom and are in the process of transitioning from traditional methods of teaching to technology-based instruction and management. The funding source for many State initiatives in technology comes from the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program. The EETT program seeks to improve student achievement through the use of technology in schools. Senator Lieberman has spearheaded efforts to retain funding for the EETT program. Senator Lieberman recognizes the importance of EETT funds which support the key pillars of No Child Left Behind and the competitiveness efforts.

Higher Education

Senator Lieberman has long been concerned about the need to make the promise of a quality higher education a reality for more Americans. In this regard, he has focused on three pillars for strengthening higher education in America: resources - making college more affordable to students; readiness - ensuring that students are prepared for college when they graduate high school; and results - making sure that students graduate and move into high-wage jobs. He has encouraged partnerships between P - 12 and higher education systems to promote academic success in postsecondary education, to increase the percentage of academically prepared low-income and minority students, and to decrease percentage of college students requiring remedial coursework. A version of his legislation to promote P-16 alignment was included in the America COMPETES Act, Public Law 110-69.  He has cosponsored bills to make college more affordable for students and their families by increasing Pell grants, reducing interest payments, and by making existing financial aid more flexible and accessible. He also cosponsored bills to provide college students with basic rights, and provide for income contingent loan repayments.

Most recently he supported the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act which passed the Senate on March 25, 2010 and was signed into law by President Obama on March 30, 2010, thereby becoming Public Law 111-152. This law includes a number of provisions to expand educational opportunities for America’s students. Among other things, this Act increases the maximum Pell Grant award to $5,550 in 2010 and ensures that awards increase in the future to keep pace with inflation. Further, the bill expands the existing income based student loan repayment program so that new borrowers are able to cap their student loan repayments at 10 percent of their discretionary income, and may qualify to have the balance of any outstanding loan forgiven after 20 years. The law enables loan forgiveness after ten year for public service workers such as teachers, nurses and those in military service.

Senator Lieberman has also promoted changes in tax law to make college for affordable. On January 14, 2009, Senator Lieberman Jointed Senator Schumer as an original cosponsor of the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2009 (S. 250).

A modified version of this legislation was included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Public Law 111-05. This Act, for fiscal years 2009 and 2010, would allow taxpayers to claim a credit for the first $2,000 of a student’s higher education expenses and 25 percent of the next $2,000, for a maximum credit of $2,500. This credit would phase out for individuals earning $80,000 and couples earning $160,000.

Charter Schools

Senator Lieberman is one of the leading advocates of the charter school movement in Congress. He coauthored legislation in 1994 that created the federal charter school program, which provided critical start-up funding.  He sponsored and won passage of legislation in 1998 that substantially expanded the charter program and provided new incentives for states to start charter schools. He has consistently fought to ensure adequate funding for charters in the annual appropriations process. Finally, he strongly supports the provisions of the America Recover and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009, which seek to encourage states to enact laws favorable to the establishment of high quality charter schools.

Other School Reforms

Vouchers. Senator Lieberman is committed to ensuring that our Nation’s public schools are second to none and are providing all our children with a quality education. In conjunction with his public school reform efforts he has also supported proposals to offer students in failing schools the option of attending private schools by receiving scholarships or vouchers to attend such schools. On July 30, 2009, he introduced the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act of 2009, or the SOAR Act. This bill proposes to reauthorize and improve the District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP). The OSP program provides scholarships to disadvantaged low-income students attending failing schools in the District of Columbia to enable them to get a better education at local private schools. Senator Lieberman has supported this program as part of a three-part strategy for enhancing educational opportunity in our nation’s capitol. The OSP program calls for new funds for DC public schools, DC public charter schools, and the OSP program. Senator Lieberman’s bill continues that strategy to ensure that the OSP program does not take any funds away from public schools, but rather provides additional support for the public schools and for reform efforts in the District. According to a report released by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the OSP program has been successful in improving academic achievement for students receiving scholarships. In fact, the OSP study shows the largest achievement impact of any innovative education program yet evaluated by the Department of Education using the gold standard of evaluation techniques, according to the evaluation’s principal investigator. Senator Lieberman strongly supports continuation of this program.