[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 19 (Tuesday, March 3, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1263-S1264]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       SENATE RESOLUTION 190--REGARDING REDUCTIONS IN CLASS SIZE

  Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself and Mrs. Feinstein) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Labor and Human 
Resources:

                              S. Res. 190

       Whereas long-range projections by the Bureau of the Census 
     indicate a rising number of births, rising to 4,200,000 in 
     2010 and 4,600,000 in 2020;
       Whereas in the coming years the population of school-aged 
     children is expected to increase to a record 52,200,000;
       Whereas academic achievement for all students is one of our 
     Nation's highest priorities;
       Whereas increased enrollments have resulted in a further 
     increase of the average class size;
       Whereas research has shown that children in small classes 
     in the earliest grades achieve better academically than the 
     peers of such children in larger classes;
       Whereas research has shown substantial lasting benefits for 
     children who were in small classes during the earliest 
     grades;
       Whereas smaller classes allow students to receive more 
     individual attention from their teachers, and reduce 
     teachers' burden of managing large numbers of students and 
     the other work of the teachers; and
       Whereas several States have been forward thinking in trying 
     to address this classroom size problem: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) experiments in reducing class size have had an effect 
     on academic achievement in the earliest grades; and
       (2) the Senate should seek to assist States in the efforts 
     of States to reduce class size and access the benefits of 
     such a reduction.

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise today to submit a Senate 
resolution regarding smaller classes in our public schools.
  This resolution expresses the Senate's strong sense that experiments 
in reducing class size in the earliest grades demonstrate a proven 
educational benefit. Accordingly, the Senate should assist States in 
their efforts to reduce class size and assess the benefits of such 
reductions.
  Mr. President, yesterday I visited the Parkview Elementary School in 
Cudahy, a community near Milwaukee, where I had the chance to read Dr. 
Seuss' classic children's story, ``Green Eggs and Ham,'' to a group of 
15 first-grade students. It was exciting to watch their faces come 
alive with curiosity as they listened.
  Parkview Elementary is a special school because it is one of 30 
Wisconsin schools in 21 school districts that are participating in the 
Student Achievement Guarantee in Education program, or the SAGE 
program. It is a very popular pilot program and, according to an 
independent evaluation being conducted by the University of Wisconsin-
Milwaukee's, Center for Urban Initiatives and Research, it's been very 
effective at reducing the size of elementary school classes. SAGE is a 
very appropriate acronym, for a sage is a teacher who imparts knowledge 
and wisdom through direct interaction with his or her students, and the 
SAGE program in Wisconsin is trying to give students and teachers more 
opportunities to interact directly, which improves learning.
  SAGE is a pilot program created by the Wisconsin legislature in 1995. 
The specific objective of the program is to improve student achievement 
through four reform strategies: (1) reducing student/teacher ratios to 
a maximum of 15-to-1, which was the size of the first-grade class I 
visited yesterday; (2) increasing cooperation between schools and their 
surrounding communities; (3) implementing a rigorous academic 
curriculum stressing achievement; and, finally, (4) improving staff 
development and evaluation. A modest amount of state aid is available 
to schools who adopt the SAGE program, which currently covers 
kindergarten through the second grade, and which is scheduled to be 
expanded to cover third grade in the near future.
  SAGE has proven to be very popular with parents, teachers, school 
administrators and students. Reports from Wisconsin educators indicate 
improvements in classroom environment and academic performance in 
schools participating in this program. A December 1997 study found that 
first-graders participating in SAGE scored higher on standardized tests 
than other students in comparison schools. The SAGE program has 
demonstrated again what we know instinctively: students in smaller 
classes benefit from more attention from teachers, and teachers with 
fewer pupils will have more time and energy to devote to their jobs. 
Class size has been proven to be one of the crucial factors in the 
quality of a child's education, along with teacher quality and parental 
involvement.
  The SAGE program and this resolution will reinforce what should be 
good, common sense. If you have smaller classes, children get more 
attention from teachers, and it stands to reason that more attention 
will translate into more learning.
  Mr. President, I think the Wisconsin experience with this kind of 
common-sense educational reform is instructive.
  That is why, last fall, I included an amendment to the Labor and 
Health and Human Services Departments' 1998 appropriation bill 
requiring the Department of Education to study the costs and benefits 
of reducing class size in the earliest grades. My amendment also 
required the Department to prepare cost estimates of growing 
enrollments and to follow-up with policy recommendations. In addition, 
I wrote earlier this year to President Clinton in January requesting 
that he make reducing class size a priority in his FY 99 education 
budget. I was pleased that the President's FY 99 budget includes an 
initiative to help schools provide small classes with qualified 
teachers in the early grades. Mr. President, in an effort to spread the 
message of the successful SAGE pilot program, I recently invited 
Education Secretary Richard Riley to come to Wisconsin for a tour of 
several SAGE schools.
  And, finally, most recently, I have written to the chairman and 
ranking member of the Labor and Human Resources Committee requesting 
that the committee hold a hearing to examine the options available to 
schools as they plan for smaller class size with higher anticipated 
student enrollment looming.
  A recent Department of Education report states that this year's 
elementary and secondary student enrollment will soon be at record 
levels. School districts are going to need to adapt to these increases 
while many of them rightly will be investing as much as they can in the 
creation of smaller classes for early elementary students.
  Addressing the problem of increasing enrollment and the desire to 
reduce class size presents a great challenge to our communities, our 
States and our Nation. As I say that, I want to be very

[[Page S1264]]

clear that I believe that the American public school system is rooted 
in the vision of Thomas Jefferson. He saw a future where every child in 
the Nation could look forward to a thorough public education, 
comparable in quality but under local control. I want it to be clear 
that when I speak about small class size as a national goal, it is in 
the context of local control. So I do not support a national mandate 
for smaller class size.
  I believe that any distribution formula for the funds should give 
credit to and not penalize those States, such as Wisconsin, which have 
gotten ahead of this and have invested some resources.
  I also believe very firmly that any national funding in this area has 
to be paid for. It cannot be done on the basis of deficit spending or, 
in effect, borrowing from Social Security.
  But with those qualifications, I reiterate that there is a great 
national purpose in trying to reduce class sizes for children. 
Therefore, the Federal Government has a limited but important role in 
ensuring that the Nation makes the proper investments in students today 
so that it can meet the challenges of the 21st century.
  Mr. President, we should take the necessary steps now to help school 
districts reduce class size as part of an overall effort to improve 
education and ensure that our children have the best chance to excel 
and reach their full potential.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I thank my colleague, Senator Feingold, 
for his remarks about smaller class size and the importance of 
education. His remarks are very important, and I associate myself with 
and support his resolution.

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