WASHINGTON DC – Today, in a speech to the Urban League, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the formation of the Equity and Excellence Commission. The Commission is the brainchild of Congressman Mike Honda (CA - 15) and Chaka Fattah (PA - 02), who through their work on the House Appropriations Committee secured funding for the Department’s Office of Civil Rights to conduct the Commission.

“It is time to recognize that parity and equity in education are not the same,” said Rep Michael Honda. “Reexamining education finance is the best means we have to ensure equity for each child.  The Equity and Excellence Commission is built to do more than talk. It is built to act. Congressman Fattah and I intend to work hand-in-hand with the Department throughout the life of the Commission, and to use its recommendations as the basis for legislation that will bring true equity to all our children. Only an education system that ensures equity for each child will prove capable of training an American workforce that can compete in the 21st century global economy.   I applaud Secretary Duncan and Assistant Secretary Russlynn Ali for moving so swiftly to begin this work.”

“Today we are celebrating a significant milestone in the historic effort to close the achievement gap that has plagued our nation’s schools. The Equity and Excellence Commission I worked with Congressman Honda to initiate and that has been established by Secretary Arne Duncan will begin to close the gap in resource distribution between rich and poor schools,” said Congressman Fattah. “This new Commission means that every child can look forward to the day that he or she will have a chance to realize their full potential and compete in the global economy. Secretary Duncan is to be commended for his leadership in ensuring that all children have a meaningful opportunity to learn.”

“America's system of funding public education is inherently unequal. This bipartisan commission exposes the inequities in funding, gathers public input and issues policy recommendations on finance reform," said Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education.

The Commission represents an important step in the fight to obtain educational equity for each child. Convening a national conversation examining how education finance can be reformed to achieve equity. The Commissioners will be chosen from a bi-partisan group of the foremost experts on education finance.  The Commission will hold meetings throughout the country, ensuring that all stakeholders get a chance to contribute to the discussion in a meaningful way, before the Commission issues its findings to Congress.  Rep Honda and Rep Fattah believe that education finance is the means to bridge the divide in the debate over education reform, and to fulfill the promise of equal educational opportunity for each child.

###