[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 25 (Wednesday, March 9, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 9, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                IMPROVING AMERICA'S SCHOOLS ACT OF 1994

                                 ______


                               speech of

                           HON. JENNIFER DUNN

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 3, 1994

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 6) to extend 
     for 6 years the authorizations of appropriations for the 
     programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
     1965, and for certain other purposes:

  Ms. DUNN. Mr. Chairman, on behalf of the more than 2,000 constituents 
who took the time to write or place phone calls to my office, I rise in 
strong support of the Armey amendment to protect home schoolers and 
private schools. The Armey amendment eliminates any certification 
requirement for private, religious and home schools. In addition, it 
precludes interference with continued Catholic and parochial school 
participation in Elementary and Secondary Education Act programs.
  As both President Clinton and Dr. William Bennett have observed, 
``Governments don't raise children, parents do.''
  I firmly believe in and support the right of parents to determine the 
best schooling option for their children, whether that choice be 
private, religious, home or public school. Thousands of families today 
have opted out of public schools. Some sought relief from the mandates 
placed on public education by the Federal Government. Some sought 
refuge from increasing violence in public schools. All have made the 
decision that the quality of education they wish to provide for their 
children cannot be found in the public school system. Such parents are 
simply exercising their appropriate freedoms in making choices that are 
rightly reserved for them. This Congress must protect the right of 
parents to enroll their children in private schools or educate their 
children in a home school. These parents have the constitutional right 
as Americans to educate their children in the manner they choose 
because they are in a better position to know the needs of their 
children than are any bureaucrats here in Washington, DC.
  As every Member of this body knows, parents are rightly demanding 
reforms in our education system. Among those reforms are parental 
choice, local control, better schools, safer schools, and freedom from 
Federal regulations and Federal money with strings attached. Mr. 
Chairman, I believe adequate regulations are already in place on the 
State and local level for private schools and home schools. Parents who 
care enough to pay the added cost of a private school, or expend 
countless hours educating their children at home, do not need the 
Federal Government second-guessing their every move.
  While I supported the Ford amendment, it did not go far enough to 
affirm the rights of parents. The Armey amendment is needed to protect 
all home schoolers, including those in the 17 States where home 
schooling is proscribed by State law and defined as private schooling,
  I urge my colleagues to ensure the rights of parents, to ensure the 
rightful independence of home schools and private schools, and to make 
the record absolutely clear by passing the Armey amendment.

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