[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 33 (Wednesday, March 3, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H897]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1030
                  ED-FLEX AND ENDING SOCIAL PROMOTION

  (Mr. FORD asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FORD. Mr. Speaker, I also extend my prayers to the Brown family, 
as we all do.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 800, as my friend just did, 
the Ed-Flex Partnership Act of 1999. I support this bill because it 
gives States and local school districts the flexibility to tailor 
Federal programs to meet their local needs.
  But with flexibility also comes accountability. Ed-Flex works to 
require States to identify specific and measurable goals they have for 
those students and groups affected by the waivers. In other words, Ed-
Flex requires States to have accountability systems in place prior to 
granting them the authority to waive specific requirements.
  But Ed-Flex alone will not solve all of our problems. Our public 
schools still have pressing needs: Unmet school construction and 
modernization, a shrinking pool of qualified teachers, and a lack of 
technology in the classroom.
  At a time when children are being promoted to successive grades based 
on age and not achievement, social promotion is an issue that should 
concern us all. It must stop. That is why I urge my colleagues, 
cosponsors of Ed-Flex, to not only cosponsor Ed-Flex, but to support 
the Democrats' plan to reward those school districts who end social 
promotion and close underperforming schools by providing them with 
additional funds to build new schools and hire new teachers. Ed-Flex is 
good, but alone it will not solve all our problems.

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