[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 625 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 625
Congratulating the students, parents, teachers, and leaders of charter
schools across the United States for making ongoing contributions to
education, and supporting the ideals and goals of the 23rd annual
National Charter Schools Week, to be held May 8 through May 14, 2022.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 9, 2022
Mr. Scott of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Cassidy, Mrs.
Feinstein, Mr. Hagerty, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Braun, Mr. Burr, Ms. Hassan,
Mr. Rubio, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Carper, Mr. Wicker, Mr.
Booker, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Lankford, Mr. McConnell, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mr.
Young, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Tuberville, Mr. Coons, Mr. Johnson,
Mr. Scott of Florida, and Mr. Hickenlooper) submitted the following
resolution; which was considered and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Congratulating the students, parents, teachers, and leaders of charter
schools across the United States for making ongoing contributions to
education, and supporting the ideals and goals of the 23rd annual
National Charter Schools Week, to be held May 8 through May 14, 2022.
Whereas charter schools are public schools that do not charge tuition and enroll
any student who wants to attend, often through a random lottery when the
demand for enrollment is outmatched by the supply of available charter
school seats;
Whereas high-performing public charter schools deliver a high-quality public
education and challenge all students to reach their potential for
academic success;
Whereas public charter schools promote innovation and excellence in public
education;
Whereas public charter schools throughout the United States provide millions of
families with diverse and innovative educational options for the
children of those families;
Whereas high-performing public charter schools and charter management
organizations are increasing student achievement and attendance rates at
institutions of higher education;
Whereas public charter schools are authorized by a designated entity and--
(1) respond to the needs of communities, families, and students in the
United States; and
(2) promote the principles of quality, accountability, choice, high-
performance, and innovation;
Whereas, in exchange for flexibility and autonomy, public charter schools are
held accountable by the authorizers of the charter schools for improving
student achievement and for sound financial and operational management;
Whereas public charter schools are required to meet the student achievement
accountability requirements under the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) in the same manner as traditional
public schools;
Whereas public charter schools often set higher expectations for students,
beyond the requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), to ensure that the charter schools are of
high quality and truly accountable to the public;
Whereas 44 States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico have public
charter schools;
Whereas, as of the 2020-2021 school year, more than 7,700 public charter schools
served approximately 3,600,000 children;
Whereas enrollment in public charter schools grew from 400,000 students in 2001
to 3,600,000 students in 2021, a more than ninefold increase in 20
years;
Whereas in the United States--
(1) in 234 school districts, more than 10 percent of public school
students are enrolled in public charter schools; and
(2) in at least 27 school districts, at least 30 percent of public
school students are enrolled in public charter schools;
Whereas public charter schools improve the achievement of students enrolled in
the charter schools and collaborate with traditional public schools to
improve public education for all students;
Whereas public charter schools--
(1) give parents the freedom to choose public schools;
(2) routinely measure parental satisfaction levels; and
(3) must prove the ongoing success of the charter schools to parents,
policymakers, and the communities served by the charter schools or risk
closure;
Whereas a 2015 report from the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at
Stanford University found significant improvements for students at urban
charter schools, and, when compared to peers in traditional public
schools, each year those students completed the equivalent of 28 more
days of learning in reading and 40 more days of learning in math;
Whereas a 2020 study from the Program on Education Policy and Governance at
Harvard University found greater academic gains for students in charter
schools than for students in traditional public schools who took the
reading and math assessments administered by the National Assessment of
Educational Progress (NAEP) in fourth and eighth grade between 2005 and
2017, and African American and low-income students attending charter
schools were almost 6 months ahead of their peers in reading and math
compared with students in traditional public schools over the 12-year
span of the study;
Whereas parental demand for charter schools is high, and there was a 7 percent
growth in charter school enrollment between the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021
school years; and
Whereas the 23nd annual National Charter Schools Week is scheduled to be
celebrated the week of May 8 through May 14, 2022: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) congratulates the students, families, teachers,
leaders, and staff of public charter schools across the United
States for--
(A) making ongoing contributions to public
education;
(B) making impressive strides in closing the
academic achievement gap in schools in the United
States, particularly in schools with some of the most
disadvantaged students in both rural and urban
communities; and
(C) improving and strengthening the public school
system throughout the United States;
(2) supports the ideals and goals of the 23nd annual
National Charter Schools Week, a week-long celebration to be
held May 8 through May 14, 2022, in communities throughout the
United States; and
(3) encourages the people of the United States to hold
appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities during
National Charter Schools Week to demonstrate support for public
charter schools.
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