[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 54 (Thursday, May 4, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3557-S3558]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     NATIONAL CHARTER SCHOOLS WEEK

  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
now proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Con. Res. 108 
submitted earlier by Senators Lieberman and Gregg.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 108) designating the 
     week beginning on April 30, 2000, and ending on May 6, 2000, 
     as ``National Charter Schools Week.''

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.
  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution be agreed to; that the preamble be agreed to; that the 
motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; and that any statements 
relating to the resolution be printed at the appropriate place in the 
Record.
  The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 108) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 108

       Whereas charter schools are public schools authorized by a 
     designated public body and operating on the principles of 
     accountability, parent flexibility, choice, and autonomy;

[[Page S3558]]

       Whereas in exchange for the flexibility and autonomy given 
     to charter schools, they are held accountable by their 
     sponsors for improving student achievement and for their 
     financial and other operations;
       Whereas 36 States, the District of Columbia, and the 
     Commonwealth of Puerto Rico have passed laws authorizing 
     charter schools;
       Whereas 35 States, the District of Columbia, and the 
     Commonwealth of Puerto Rico will have received more than 
     $350,000,000 in grants from the Federal Government by the end 
     of the current fiscal year for planning, startup, and 
     implementation of charter schools since their authorization 
     in 1994 under title X, part C of the Elementary and Secondary 
     Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8061 et seq.);
       Whereas 32 States, the District of Columbia, and the 
     Commonwealth of Puerto Rico are serving approximately 350,000 
     students in more than 1,700 charter schools during the 1999 
     to 2000 school year;
       Whereas charter schools can be vehicles both for improving 
     student achievement for students who attend them and for 
     stimulating change and improvement in all public schools and 
     benefiting all public school students;
       Whereas charter schools in many States serve significant 
     numbers of students with lower income, students of color, and 
     students with disabilities;
       Whereas the Charter Schools Expansion Act of 1998 (Public 
     Law 105-278) amended the Federal grant program for charter 
     schools authorized by title X, part C of the Elementary and 
     Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8061 et seq.) to 
     strengthen accountability provisions at the Federal, State, 
     and local levels to ensure that charter public schools are of 
     high quality and are truly accountable to the public;
       Whereas 7 of 10 charter schools report having a waiting 
     list;
       Whereas students in charter schools nationwide have similar 
     demographic characteristics as students in all public 
     schools;
       Whereas charter schools have enjoyed broad bipartisan 
     support from the Administration, the Congress, State 
     governors and legislatures, educators, and parents across the 
     Nation; and
       Whereas charter schools are laboratories of reform and 
     serve as models of how to educate children as effectively as 
     possible: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) acknowledges and commends the charter school movement 
     for its contribution to improving our Nation's public school 
     system;
       (2) designates the week beginning on April 30, 2000, and 
     ending on May 6, 2000, as ``National Charter Schools Week''; 
     and
       (3) requests that the President issue a proclamation 
     calling on the people of the United States to observe the 
     week by conducting appropriate programs, ceremonies, and 
     activities to demonstrate support for charter schools in 
     communities throughout the Nation.

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