[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 26, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S91-S92]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mr. Byrd, Mr. Breaux, and Mrs. 
        Lincoln):
  S. 2009. A bill to provide for a rural education development 
initiative, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.


    rural education development initiative for the 21st century act

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, we spend less than a quarter of our 
nation's education dollars to educate approximately half of our 
nation's students. You don't have to be a math whiz to know that the 
numbers just don't add up.
  Thousands of rural and small schools across our nation face the 
daunting mission of educating almost half of America's children. 
Increasingly, these schools find that they are underfunded, 
overwhelmed, and overlooked. While half of the nation's students are 
educated in rural and small public schools, they only receive 23% of 
Federal education dollars; 25% of State education dollars; and 19% of 
Local education dollars.
  We all grew up thinking that the three R's were Reading, Writing, and 
Arithmetic. Unfortunately for our rural school children, the three R's 
are too often run-down classrooms, insufficient resources, and really 
over-worked teachers.
  Increasingly, Mr. President, rural and small schools are plagued by 
disparities connected to their geographic location and limited 
enrollment. To top it off, rural and small schools face shrinking local 
tax bases, higher transportation costs associated with the greater 
distance students must travel to school, and crumbling school buildings 
that may not have air conditioning, hot water, or roofs that do not 
leak.
  Rural school districts and schools also find it more difficult to 
attract and retain qualified administrators and certified teachers. 
Consequently, teachers in rural schools are almost twice as likely to 
provide instruction in two or more subjects than their urban 
counterparts. Rural teachers also tend to be younger, less experienced, 
and receive less pay than their urban and suburban counterparts. Worse 
yet, rural school teachers are less likely to have the high quality 
professional development opportunities that current research strongly 
suggests all teachers desperately need.
  Limited resources also mean fewer course offerings for students in 
rural and small schools. Consequently, courses are designed for the 
kids in the middle. So, students at either end of the academic spectrum 
miss out. Additionally, fewer rural students who dropout ever return to 
complete high school, and fewer rural higher school graduates go on to 
college.
  On another note, recent research on brain development clearly shows 
the critical nature of early childhood education, yet rural schools are 
less likely to offer even kindergarten classes, let alone earlier 
educational opportunities. Limited resources also mean less support for 
teacher training, technical assistance, educational technologies, and 
school libraries.
  To make matters worse, many of our rural areas are also plagued by 
persistent poverty, and, as we know, high-poverty schools have a much 
tougher time preparing their students to reach high standards of 
performance on state and national assessments. Data from the National 
Assessment of Educational Progress consistently show large gaps between 
the achievement of students in high-poverty schools and students in 
low-poverty schools.
  Our bill would provide funding to approximately 3,400 rural and small 
school districts that serve 4.6 million students--a short-term infusion 
of funds that will allow these schools and their students to take 
substantial strides forward.
  Local education agencies would be eligible for REDI funding if they 
are either ``rural'' (serve a non-metropolitan area) and have a school-
age population (ages 5-17) with 20 percent or more of whom are from 
families with incomes below the poverty line; or ``small'' (student 
population of 800 or less) and a student population (ages 5-17) with 20 
percent or more of whom are from families with incomes below the 
poverty line.
  Like the Education Flexibility Act of 1999 (Ed-flex) I authored with 
Senator Bill Frist earlier this Congress, REDI is voluntary--states and 
school districts could choose to participate in the program. Both Ed-
flex and REDI are designed to provide states and districts with the 
flexibility they need in order to use funding to deal with their local 
priorities.
  I've heard it said that this would be the Education Congress, but we 
have much to do before we earn that title. Ed-flex was a good start, 
but it was a start, not a finish. It's time to show

[[Page S92]]

that we when it comes to education, we won't leave anyone behind, and 
REDI will give poor, rural children a real chance. We can't afford to 
stop now.

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