Education
A good education is the key to unlocking our nation’s full economic potential and ensuring everyone benefits in our economy. Congresswoman Slaughter believes that we must ensure equal access to quality education for all Americans. She aims to ensure that anyone who wants to attend college has the opportunity.
Congresswoman Slaughter also recognizes that education is a continuous journey and we must adapt our workforce to new technologies. Our nation must provide workers with the skills they need to thrive in today’s economy. Congresswoman Slaughter is committed to ensuring all Americans have the tools they need for success.
Priorities
- Early Childhood Education: Congresswoman Slaughter knows that if we want our children to succeed, we must invest in them from an early age. In particular, Congresswoman Slaughter believes we need to expand preschool and national school readiness programs. These opportunities are some of the best tools we have to help low-income children, especially children of color, arrive ready for kindergarten and beyond.
- Improving Public Schools: Congresswoman Slaughter is committed to working with local students, teachers, families, and administrators to improve our public schools. As part of this effort, Congresswoman Slaughter recognizes that significant changes to No Child Left Behind (NCLB) are needed. We must provide students with the skills and knowledge they need to excel in life.
- Reducing the Cost of College: Congresswoman Slaughter is committed to making higher education affordable for all families and individuals. Every American, rich or poor, should have access to a high-quality and affordable education. If America wants to remain competitive in the world, we need more students graduating with a degree, not debt.
- Training Local Workers: Congresswoman Slaughter believes that we must continue to partner with growing industries to ensure that a skilled and adequately trained workforce is available. In particular, Congresswoman Slaughter is working to ensure that advanced manufacturing industries in Rochester have access to the skilled labor they need to thrive.
Accomplishments
- McKinney-Vento Homeless Housing Assistance Act: In one of her first major actions as a member of Congress, Congresswoman Slaughter helped ensure that the McKinney-Vento Homeless Housing Assistance Act, the first federal law regarding homelessness, did not neglect children. She ensured that homeless children could continue to attend the same schools even if their family moved to a shelter out of the school district. Congresswoman Slaughter’s efforts continue to be critical in helping children maintain stability in the midst of challenging times.
Support Head Start Programs: Congresswoman Slaughter has been a steadfast supporter of the Head Start and Early Head Start programs. In 2015, she secured a $6.9 million grant allowing Rochester’s Action for a Better Community’s (ABC) Head Start Program to continue providing quality child care and education to over 1,400 children, infants, and pregnant women. In 2014, Congresswoman Slaughter successfully fought for the restoration of $700,000 to the Head Start program. These funds allowed ABC to continue working with over 210 children and saved 33 jobs. Congresswoman Slaughter continues her long-standing advocacy for funding and expanding the Head Start program.- All Children are Equal (ACE) Act: Congresswoman Slaughter is the lead Democratic sponsor on the bipartisan All Children are Equal (ACE) Act. This legislation would fix a flawed formula used to determine funding for schools serving disadvantaged and low-income students. Under this faulty calculation, money is diverted from higher poverty school districts to more populous school districts, regardless of poverty rates. Her legislation seeks to fix this error so that underfunded school districts receive the money they need to educate their students. The Rochester City School District is one of the most disadvantaged districts under the current formula and would receive more than $10 million in additional funding over three years under the corrected formula.
College Cost Reduction and Access Act: In 2007, Congresswoman Slaughter voted for the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which reduced the fixed rate on Stafford student loans for undergraduate students from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent. This change in law helped ease a stress on thousands of students and their families. She has since voted repeatedly to maintain low interest rates on student loans. Congresswoman Slaughter continues to work toward the goal of lessening the burden of federally subsidized student loans and protecting federal funding for Pell Grants.- Continuing Education Grants: In 2014, Congresswoman Slaughter secured a $5.1 million Department of Labor grant for job training programs throughout the Finger Lakes Region. This investment helps ensure that 1,500 local community members, including veterans and the unemployed, get the training and skills necessary to compete and succeed in new high-tech jobs. This funding is only part of the more than $20 million Congresswoman Slaughter has secured for Monroe Community College and RochesterWorks to provide job training since 2012.
More on Education
WASHINGTON, DC — Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter (NY-25) today introduced Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), ahead of his speech during the University of Rochester’s Meliora Weekend. Rep. Slaughter, the only microbiologist in Congress, invited Dr. Collins to Rochester. Below are her remarks, as prepared for delivery:
WASHINGTON, DC — Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter (NY-25) today urged Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz to support a Rochester Institute of Technology-led proposal for a new public-private clean energy manufacturing institute. College officials, on behalf of academic and industrial partners from around the country, submitted a proposal on September 28th under the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) program to create a new Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute.
Slaughter Launches 3rd Annual Congressional App Challenge for New York’s 25th Congressional District
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (NY-25) launched the third annual Congressional App Challenge to promote innovation in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The Congressional App Challenge is designed to stimulate high school students’ creativity and increase participation in STEM education fields. Submissions are due by November 2, 2016.
WASHINGTON, DC — Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (NY-25), co-chair of the Congressional Arts Caucus, announced today that the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has awarded more than $400,000 in grant funding to the George Eastman Museum, Memorial Art Gallery, and the Strong. The funding will strengthen the ability of these Rochester museums to serve the public. Slaughter is the co-chair of the Congressional Arts Caucus and has worked to ensure robust support for IMLS.
WASHINGTON, DC — Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (NY-25) announced today that the University of Rochester will receive a $300,000 grant award from the National Science Foundation. The funding will be used to expand the university’s Upward Bound program across several colleges and universities in the region, including Monroe Community College, Cornell University, and D’Youville College. Upward Bound serves high school students from low-income families and those from families in which neither parent holds a bachelor's degree.
WASHINGTON, DC — Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter (NY-25), the only microbiologist in Congress, announced today that the National Institute of General Medical Sciences has awarded a $436,989 grant to the Rochester Institute of Technology. The funding will be used to develop new narrow-spectrum antibiotics to help combat the growing threat posed by antibiotic resistant bacteria. Slaughter is the author of the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act and has led the national effort to combat antibiotic resistant bacteria.
WASHINGTON, DC —Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter (NY-25) announced today that the National Science Foundation has awarded a $2 million grant to the University of Rochester to continue their pioneering photonics research. The funding will be used to develop integrated hybrid quantum photonic circuits that could lead to the advancement of new device technology across industrial sectors. This research will help solve the challenges that come with sharing and exchanging quantum information across disparate and physically separated parts of a network system.
WASHINGTON, DC — Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (NY-25) announced today that funding she requested for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) to continue providing world-class educational opportunities for deaf and head-of-hearing students from across the country has passed a key House hurdle. Slaughter led efforts to provide $70 million in funding for the NTID, which the House Appropriations Committee included in an appropriations bill that passed today. Rochester’s deaf and hard-of-hearing community is the nation’s largest on a per-capita basis.
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter (NY-25) announced that the National Science Foundation has awarded a $437,521 grant for the Rochester Institute of Technology to continue their groundbreaking research in gravitational waves. The funding will support the Einstein Toolkit, a collaborative software platform involving researchers from around the world that simulates astrophysical objects and promotes community-driven, scientific advancement.
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter (NY-25) introduced the Patsy Mink Gender Equity in Education Act. This bill would provide more resources for schools, school districts, states, and institutions of higher education to fully implement Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender sex in federally funded educational programs and activities. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) introduced a companion bill in the United States Senate.