[House Document 106-68]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document
106-68
REAUTHORIZATION OF THE ELEMENTARY AND
SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 1965
__________
MESSAGE
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
transmitting
HIS ADMINISTRATION'S PROPOSAL FOR REAUTHORIZATION OF THE ELEMENTARY AND
SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 1965
May 24, 1999.--Message and accompanying papers referred to the
Committee on Education and the Workforce, Armed Services, and Banking
and Financial Services and ordered to be printed
______________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
56-875 WASHINGTON : 1999
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To the Congress of the United States:
I am pleased to transmit for your immediate consideration
the ``Educational Excellence for All Children Act of 1999,'' my
Administration's proposal for reauthorization of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) and other elementary
and secondary education programs.
My proposal builds on the positive trends achieved under
current law. The ``Improving America's Schools Act of 1994,''
which reauthorized the ESEA 5 years ago, and the ``Goals 2000:
Educate America Act'' gave States and school districts a
framework for integrating Federal resources in support of State
and local reforms based on high academic standards. In
response, 48 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico
have adopted State-level standards. Recent results of the
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) show
improved performance for the economically disadvantaged and
other at-risk students who are the primary focus of ESEA
programs. NAEP reading scores for 9-year olds in high-poverty
schools have improved significantly since 1992, while
mathematics achievement has also increased nationally. Students
in high-poverty schools and the lowest-performing students--the
specific target populations for the ESEA Title I program--have
registered gains in both reading and math achievement.
I am encouraged by these positive trends, but educational
results for many children remain far below what they should be.
My proposal to reauthorize the ESEA is based on four themes
reflecting lessons from research and the experience of
implementing the 1994 Act.
First, we would continue to focus on high academic
standards for all children. The underlying purposes of every
program within the ESEA is to help all children reach
challenging State and local academic standards. States have
largely completed the first stage of standards-based reform by
developing content standards for all children. My bill would
support the next stage of reform by helping States, schools
districts, schools, and teachers use these standards to guide
classroom instruction and assessment.
My proposal for reauthorizing Title I, for example, would
require States to hold school districts and schools accountable
for student performance against State standards, including
helping the lowest-performing students continually to improve.
The bill also would continue to target Federal elementary and
secondary education resources on those students furthest from
meeting State and local standards, with a particular emphasis
on narrowing the gap in achievement between disadvantaged
students and their more affluent peers. In this regard, my
proposal would phase in equal treatment of Puerto Rico in ESEA
funding formulas, so that poor children in Puerto Rico are
treated similarly to those in the rest of the country for the
purpose of formula allocations.
Second, my proposal responds to research showing that while
qualified teachers are critical to improving student
achievement, far too many teachers are not prepared to teach to
high standards. Teacher quality is a particular problem in
high-poverty schools, and the problem is often exacerbated by
the use of paraprofessionals in instructional roles.
My bill addresses teacher quality by holding States
accountable for stronger enforcement of their own certification
and licensure requirements, while at the same time providing
substantial support for State and local professional
development efforts. The Teaching to High Standards initiative
in Title II would help move challenging educational standards
into every classroom by providing teachers with sustained and
intensive high-quality professional development in core
academic subjects, supporting new teachers during their first 3
years in the classroom, and ensuring that all teachers are
proficient in relevant content knowledge and teaching skills.
The Technology for Education initiative under Title III
would expand the availability of educational technology as a
tool to help teachers implement high standards in the
classroom, particularly in high-poverty schools. My bill also
would extend, over the next 7 years, the Class-Size Reduction
initiative, which aims to reduce class sizes in the early
grades by helping districts to hire and train 100,000 teachers.
And the Title VII Bilingual Education proposal would help
ensure that all teachers are well trained to teach students
with limited English proficiency, who are found in more and
more classrooms with each passing year.
Third, my bill would increase support for safe, healthy,
disciplined, and drug-free learning environments where all
children feel connected, motivated, and challenged to learn and
where parents are welcomed and involved. The recent tragedy at
Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, reminds us that
we must be ever vigilant against the risks of violence and
other dangerous behaviors in our schools. Our reauthorization
bill includes several measures to help mitigate these risks.
We would strengthen the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and
Communities Act by concentrating funds on districts with the
greatest need for drug- and violence-prevention programs, and
by emphasizing the use of research-based programs of proven
effectiveness. Moreover, with respect to students who bring
weapons to school, this proposal would require schools to refer
such students to a mental health professional for assessment
and require counseling for those who pose an imminent threat to
themselves or others; allow funding for programs that educate
students about the risks associated with guns; expand character
education programs; and promote alternative schools and second
chance programs. A new School Emergency Response to Violence
program would provide rapid assistance to school districts that
have experienced violence or other trauma that disrupts the
learning environment.
My High School Reform initiative would support innovative
reforms to improve student achievement in high schools, such as
expanding the connections between adults and students that are
necessary for effective learning and healthy personal
development. This new initiative would provide resources to
help transform 5,000 high schools into places where students
receive individual attention, are motivated to learn, are
provided with challenging courses, and are encouraged to
develop and pursue long-term educational and career goals.
Fourth, in response to clear evidence that standards-based
reforms work best when States have strong accountability
systems in place, my proposal would encourage each State to
establish a single, rigorous accountability system for all
schools. The bill also would require States to end social
promotion and traditional retention practices; phase out the
use of teachers with emergency certificates and the practice of
assigning teachers ``out-of-field;'' and implement sound
discipline polices in every school. Finally, the bill would
give parents an important new accountability tool by requiring
State, district, and school-level report cards that will help
them evaluate the quality of the schools their children attend.
Based on high standards for all students, high-quality
professional development for teachers, safe and disciplined
learning environments, and accountability to parents and
taxpayers, the Educational Excellence for All Children Act of
1999 provides a solid foundation for raising student
achievement and narrowing the achievement gap between
disadvantaged students and their more advantaged peers. More
important, it will help prepare all of our children, and thus
the Nation, for the challenges of the 21st century. I urge the
Congress to take prompt and favorable action on this proposal.
William J. Clinton.
The White House, May 21, 1999.