[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 116 (Tuesday, September 26, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H8184-H8188]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        CONGRATULATING HOME EDUCATORS AND HOME SCHOOLED STUDENTS

  Mr. SCHAFFER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the resolution (H. Res. 578) congratulating home educators and home 
schooled students across the Nation for their ongoing contributions to 
education and for the role they play in promoting and ensuring a 
brighter, stronger future for this Nation, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 578

       Whereas the United States is committed to excellence in 
     education and to strengthening the family;
       Whereas parental choice and involvement are important to 
     excellence in education;
       Whereas parents have a fundamental right to direct the 
     education and upbringing of their children;
       Whereas home schooling families contribute significantly to 
     cultural diversity, which is important to a healthy society;
       Whereas home education allows families the opportunity to 
     provide their children a sound academic education integrated 
     with high ethical standards taught within a safe and secure 
     environment;
       Whereas home education has been a major part of American 
     education and culture since the Nation's inception and 
     demonstrates the American ideals of innovation, 
     entrepreneurship, and individual responsibility;
       Whereas home education was proven successful in the lives 
     of George Washington, Patrick Henry, John Quincy Adams, John 
     Marshall, Robert E. Lee, Booker T. Washington, Thomas Edison, 
     Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Mark 
     Twain, John Singleton Copley, William Carey, Phyllis 
     Wheatley, and Andrew Carnegie, who were each home schooled;
       Whereas today the United States has a significant number of 
     parents who teach a total of approximately 1,700,000 home 
     schooled students, thus saving several billion dollars on 
     public education each year;
       Whereas home schooled students exhibit self-confidence and 
     good citizenship and are fully prepared academically and 
     socially to meet the challenges of today's society;
       Whereas scores of contemporary studies, including a 1999 
     University of Maryland analysis of the nationally recognized 
     Iowa Test of Basic Skills, confirm that children who are 
     educated at home perform exceptionally well on nationally 
     normed achievement tests, and such performance is also 
     demonstrated by the fact that home schooled students scored 
     well above the national average on the 2000 SAT and the 1997, 
     1998, 1999, and 2000 ACT;
       Whereas studies demonstrate that home schooled students 
     excel in college, with the grade point average of home 
     schooled students exceeding the college average;
       Whereas home schooled students continue to exhibit 
     excellence in academic competitions, as demonstrated by home 
     schooled students finishing first, second, and third in the 
     2000 Scripps-Howard National Spelling Bee and by a home 
     schooled student finishing second in the 2000 National 
     Geography Bee sponsored by the National Geographic Society; 
     and
       Whereas National Home Education Week, beginning on October 
     1, 2000, and ending on October 7, 2000, furthers the goal of 
     honoring home educators and home schooled students for their 
     efforts to improve the quality of education in the United 
     States: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

[[Page H8185]]

       (1) congratulates home educators and home schooled students 
     across the Nation for their ongoing contributions to 
     education and for the role they play in promoting and 
     ensuring a brighter, stronger future for the Nation;
       (2) honors home educators and home schooled students for 
     their efforts to improve the quality of education in the 
     United States; and
       (3) supports the goals of National Home Education Week.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Colorado (Mr. Schaffer) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. 
Sanchez) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Schaffer).


                             General Leave

  Mr. SCHAFFER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks on H. Res. 578.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Colorado?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SCHAFFER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling), the chairman of the Committee on 
Education and the Workforce, who has been a long-time advocate for 
those children throughout the country who are educated at home.
  Mr. GOODLING. I thank the gentleman for yielding time and commend him 
for bringing this resolution to us.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.Res. 578, which 
congratulates home educators and home schooled students across the 
Nation for their ongoing contributions to education and for the role 
they play in promoting a brighter, stronger future for this Nation.
  I have spoken at many of their conferences, I have attended some of 
their graduations, I know how important it is, and I know how well they 
do. It is appropriate for this body to honor parents who are directing 
the education and upbringing of their children. After all, parents are 
the first and most important teacher of their children.
  Home schooling is exactly what the name implies, a school in the 
home. Teachers in a home school are parents. These parents have a 
commitment to make the necessary sacrifices in order to personally 
provide an education for their children, and the sacrifices are great. 
Legally, parents have a fundamental right to direct their child's 
education based on two Supreme Court decisions, Wisconsin v. Yoder and 
Pierce v. Society of Sisters. Now all 50 States recognize the right to 
home school by either statute or statewide case law, and 31 States have 
specifically enacted laws to protect the constitutional rights of 
parents that teach their own children.
  The right of parents to direct the education and religious training 
of their children is derived from the first amendment, which gives 
parents the right to freely exercise their religious beliefs, and the 
14th amendment, which guarantees liberty for all including parental 
liberty to direct the education of their children.
  Historically, home schooling was one of the major forms of education 
until the early 1900s. Hundreds of great leaders in America were home 
schooled, including at least nine Presidents, also Patrick Henry, 
Benjamin Franklin, John Marshall, George Bernard Shaw and Thomas 
Edison. It is also fitting that we commend home schooled children, most 
of whom are studying hard, mastering computational skills, learning 
history, and applying the lessons of discipline and virtue to everyday 
life.
  I have had the privilege of working closely with many home schoolers 
over the past several years. They are a credit to our Nation, they know 
the issues, and they are willing to work in a bipartisan way to help 
shape legislation for the benefit of all Americans. For example, 
together we worked hand in hand to stop the ill-conceived national 
tests which could have led to a national curriculum. We won the battle, 
but the war continues even today. Home schoolers are not only involved 
in K-12 education but also higher education. In Virginia, Patrick Henry 
College will open its doors next week, primarily to home schooled 
students, to provide training in public affairs. In addition to their 
academic course work, these students will have a foundation of 
practical experience, working with governmental offices. These students 
will most certainly benefit from their understanding of our 
constitutional Republic and how limited government, individual freedom 
and private enterprise can work to benefit all Americans.
  Home schooling works. Over nine State departments of education and 
numerous independent surveys have found that on average home schooled 
children score 30 points above the national average on standardized 
achievement tests. Furthermore, these students are being accepted into 
the finest universities in America. Studies also show that nearly two-
thirds of home schooled graduates are self-employed, demonstrating 
their entrepreneurship and self-reliance.
  Today, the number of home schooled students is estimated to be as 
high as 1 million. Home schooling is not a passing fad. It continues to 
grow. Home schooling works and will continue to promote academic 
excellence and graduate productive citizens.
  In closing, I urge my colleagues to join me in commending home 
educators and home schooled students across the Nation for the role 
they play in promoting and ensuring a brighter, stronger future for the 
Nation.
  Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. 
I rise today as the House prepares to debate H. Res. 578.
  House Resolution 578 recognizes the important contributions of 
families who choose to devote their time and effort to educate their 
children at home, a task that demonstrates an incredible amount of 
determination on the part of the parents and their children.
  I value the contributions of parents who choose to become involved 
with their children's education. Although I was not a product of home 
schooling, I certainly understand as a product of the Head Start 
program how instrumental it is for parents to be involved in one's 
education. Having parents that were active and understanding of my 
needs allowed me to obtain a first-rate education. Their involvement 
has made a difference in my career.
  Parental involvement in the home schooling program is growing as an 
educational option for their children. The Department of Education 
estimates that anywhere between 1.5 and 2 million children currently 
are being home schooled. This is about 3 to 4 percent of school-aged 
children nationwide, and the total figure is growing by over 15 percent 
every year.
  By the end of the first decade of the 21st century, there may be well 
over 2 million children being home schooled in the United States. I 
know that in my own district, Pam Sorooshian has done a fantastic job 
educating her three daughters, Roya, Roxanna and Rose, at home. To 
illustrate the dedication that is put forward by Pam, Roya entered 
community college at age 13. She is now 16 and has completed over 2 
years' worth of college credits. Roxanna, who is 13, has designed over 
38 Web sites. Rose, 9, is a voracious reader who wants to own a 
bookstore someday.
  This is just one example of the great achievements made by parents 
who stay home and home school their children. Children like Roya, 
Roxanna, and Rose are like many home schooled children in that they 
take advantage of home schooling's flexibility to participate in 
special studies, such as volunteer community work, political 
internships and, of course, travel.
  This country was founded by great leaders who went through the home 
school system. With this resolution we honor them as well as the 
families that choose to continue that tradition of excellence in our 
Nation for education.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCHAFFER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Hoekstra).
  Mr. HOEKSTRA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time. I also congratulate him on bringing forward this motion tonight.
  Over the last 3 years, many on the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce have had the opportunity to travel around the country at the 
lead of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations in cooperation 
with the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling). We have had the 
opportunity to have a number of hearings, both in Washington and around 
the country. We have visited over 20

[[Page H8186]]

States. And we have had the opportunity to learn what works in 
education and what does not work. We have learned that parental 
involvement, safe classrooms, basic academics, and focusing dollars 
into the classrooms are the things that work.
  One of the things we found as we went around the country is we had 
the opportunity consistently to hear success stories about our public 
schools, our private schools, parochial schools; but also in many of 
the instances we had the opportunity to hear firsthand about the 
successes of home schoolers. We have to recognize that in today's 
environment people want to make choices about education. What this 
resolution does, it recognizes the contribution that those who choose 
home schooling make to educational excellence in America today.
  The chairman of the full committee highlighted some of those results. 
We know that for many of those parents who choose home schooling as the 
way to educate their children, the system works, the results are 
excellent; and we are getting kids who will make a difference in 
America for the future.
  What we need to do is we need to recognize that as we form an 
educational system in the United States, that we need to allow and 
permit and in some cases encourage the development of home schooling 
for those who want to make that choice. This resolution recognizes the 
importance of home schooling along with the other choices that parents 
in America have today.
  I congratulate my colleague on bringing forward this resolution and 
perhaps most importantly I congratulate all those who have chosen the 
option of home schooling and the impact that they have made in the 
lives of their children. I also want to thank the chairman of the full 
committee in providing my subcommittee with the opportunity to travel 
around the country to get a sense of the excitement and the enthusiasm 
of what is happening in education in America today.

                              {time}  2215

  We presented those findings in Education at a Crossroads, and since 
that time we again have been able to go around the country and visit 
more innovative excellent programs, programs that are having a positive 
impact.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for that opportunity as well.
  Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. LaFalce).
  Mr. LaFALCE. Mr. Speaker, I had no intention of speaking on this 
bill. I am here so that I can assist the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. 
Leach) in the management of two bills coming from the Committee on 
Banking and Financial Services.
  But since I was listening to the discussion, I thought I would 
comment. I think home schooling is very important for a number of 
reasons. It does point out a very fundamental truth that the primary 
right and the primary responsibility for the education of children 
historically has been, is, and should be with parents and that the role 
of government, whether the Federal, the State, or the local school 
district, should be to support to the maximum extent possible the full 
exercise of that parental right and responsibility.
  I happen to know a number of individuals, close friends, one is a 
member of my book club, he was my campaign manager in 1974, he is a law 
clerk for a judge right now, who engages with his wife and their 
children in home schooling. Another is a former administrative 
assistant of mine now practicing in law in Cincinnati who engages in 
home schooling, and they think it is a wonderful experience.
  There are some difficulties though. One of the difficulties is the 
lack of opportunity that children who are being home schooled sometimes 
have for social interaction and sometimes have for full participation 
within the extracurricular activities that are available to students in 
a more formal school setting and structure, particularly within the 
public school district.
  I am aware of the fact that there are a great many school districts, 
however, who do open up all their cocurricular and extracurricular 
activities to home schooled children, but there are a number of 
districts that do not do that. So I do not know that it is in this 
resolution, but at some point in time I would like to see an 
exhortation, I do not think it is appropriate for the Federal 
Government to become involved here with either a mandate or incentive, 
and I am not sure about the propriety of State government, we will 
leave it up to State legislators to determine that. But I would 
encourage school districts, in order that they would fulfill their 
primary responsibility, and that is to be supportive of the primary 
right and responsibility of the parents for the education of their 
children, to open up all their cocurricular and extracurricular 
activities to home schooled children. I think that would be a very 
meaningful thing to do.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Sanchez) 
for yielding me this time, and I thank the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. 
Schaffer) for his resolution.
  Mr. SCHAFFER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Ehlers).
  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. 
Schaffer) for yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, there are very few subjects in this Congress on which I 
can speak as an expert, but this is one of them, since I was home 
schooled at a time when most people did not know what home schooling 
was. It was not by choice, but rather because of childhood asthma which 
prevented me from going to school. And so as an alternative, I simply 
did all of my schoolwork at home.
  My parents helped in whatever way possible, but as I say, it was not 
an organized program. It was a standard school curriculum which I did 
at home. I did not think this was too remarkable. During the late 
Depression years, it was not uncommon for people to suffer considerable 
hardship and I just assumed this was my lot in life.
  What I discovered when I went to the State Senate was that 
unbeknownst to me, I had become a hero to the home school movement, 
because not only was I home schooled, but I had obtained a Ph.D. in 
nuclear physics and had been elected to the State Senate. I do not 
credit my home schooling with having accomplished that, but it was very 
useful to the home schooling movement to have a living example because 
as some may recall in the 1980's when the home school movement started, 
there was an active attempt on the part of the established schools to 
legislatively repress home schools.
  In fact, I had people in my office, educators from various parts of 
the State coming to me in the Michigan Senate asking me to help sponsor 
bills to prohibit home schooling within the State. Their reason was all 
such dire predictions that students would not learn, that students 
would falter and eventually would have to go to the public schools and 
they would be 3 years behind and the public schools would have to deal 
with that problem. I rebutted their arguments with my personal example 
and I am pleased that in fact I was correct.
  Home schooling has proved to be a very positive alternative to 
traditional public and private schools, and I am very pleased that we 
are taking some time now to recognize that and to commend them.
  Studies have shown over the years that home schooled students excel 
academically. They are consistently higher on their ACT scores than 
students who go to standard schools.
  The number of students excelling in the National Spelling Bee, in the 
National Geography Bee are far out of proportion to the number of 
students who are home schooled. My colleagues may recall that in the 
last National Spelling Bee, the first, second, and third place students 
in that national bee were home schooled. And the second place student 
in the National Geographic Society's National Geography Bee scored 
second.
  That is very interesting, and I think it is a clear indication that 
home schooling does succeed. However, I can also verify that on the 
basis of a lot of personal contact and discussion with parents and with 
students who have been to the schools, in my experience with them, and 
many of them have visited me in my office, they are invariably polite, 
proper, well educated and I believe the home schoolers, and their 
parents particularly, in this Nation deserve commendation and gratitude 
for demonstrating that this is a good alternative method of education 
which does work.

[[Page H8187]]

  Therefore, I am pleased that the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. 
Schaffer) has brought this before us, and I am pleased to join in 
commending the home schoolers of America, both the parents who do it 
and the children who receive it, and the fact that they work so well 
together to achieve their goals.
  Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, a lot of people think that because we support public 
schools, that somehow we do not support the home schooling program. I 
would like to say that is quite contrary to what many of us over on 
this side believe.
  I know that in my district back at home in California, that there are 
many people who home school their children. And as I walk door to door 
and encounter them, we have very good discussions about how we might 
get some of the local schools and local school districts to participate 
in the child's education also. We applaud on this side the whole issue 
of parent involvement and, as I said in my beginning remarks, it is 
quite important for parents to be involved in the education of a child.
  Mr. Speaker, would it not be great if all of us could find the type 
of parent or have the type of parent who would take that time and would 
have the knowledge to be able to impart that and be able to spend that 
time with the child? Unfortunately, some parents do not have that level 
of education available to them, so it is hard to pass it on to their 
youngsters. But overall, whenever I come across people who are home 
schooling in my area, it is great to hear how they do it, what types of 
trips they are taking, what they are doing to help their children 
learn.
  More importantly, it really gives us a point of discussion. Because 
many families feel very comfortable home schooling in the younger 
years, but as the children get older and have a more diverse curriculum 
that is needed many of them turn to the public schools. So it is a good 
point of discussion to ensure that home schooling parents are also 
working with the public schools to get that extracurricular activity or 
to get those additional classes, or maybe to go back into the public 
school system to get the type of learning that they need as a child 
continues to develop.
  So tonight we honor those who have been home schooled who have made 
this country great, and we continue to thank those parents who are home 
schooling and wish for them to be a part of the entire education 
community, public, private school, and the home schooling situation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCHAFFER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate everyone who has contributed to the 
conversation tonight and to support of this resolution. I am especially 
grateful for the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling), chairman 
of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and also the gentleman 
from Michigan (Mr. Hoekstra), the chairman of the Subcommittee on 
Oversight and Investigations as well. Both individuals have worked 
tirelessly for the concept of local control of education to the 
greatest extent possible.
  I can think of no better example or ultimate example of local control 
than home schooling itself. This is a very positive topic and exciting 
topic because it is a topic that highlights successes and achievement 
throughout the country.
  This is a bipartisan bill, as evidenced by the wide range of 
cosponsors of this resolution. This resolution coincides with Home 
School Week which begins in about one week, October 1 through 7, 
recognized as Home School Week throughout the country. So this 
resolution is indeed important to about 1.7 million Americans who are 
home educated throughout the country.
  I would like to share with my colleagues some interesting statistics. 
Home schooling has grown at about 15 percent a year since 1990. 
Somewhere between 6 and 18 percent of all children under 18 have had 
some type of home schooling experience.
  In kindergarten through eighth grade, home school students test the 
highest in our country on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and other 
indicators as well. Specifically, kids in that age range in that 
category score on average between the 75th and 85th percentile on the 
Iowa test, placing them far above their private school counterparts as 
well as those who are educated in government-owned schools.
  Home school K through 12 students have scored significantly higher 
than both in those other categories on the tests of achievement and 
proficiency. Home school students also score the highest on ACT scores 
for the third year in a row and for this year, 2000, they have scored 
the highest on SATs.
  As my colleague from Michigan mentioned earlier, home schooled 
students dominated the 2000 Scripps-Howard National Spelling Bee 
winning not only first place but second place and third place in that 
national spelling bee, and came in second in the 2000 National 
Geography Bee.
  What I think is most noteworthy perhaps, as the previous speaker 
indicated, of the support that home school students and home school 
educators and the home school movement enjoy not only among home 
schoolers but those who are involved in education in government-owned 
schools as well. Here is a remarkable statistic about how much home 
school families save government schools. With 1.7 million students 
being educated at home and the average per pupil expenditure, according 
to the U.S. Department of Education, being almost $7,000 per year, home 
school families and students save the government State, local, and 
Federal, an incredible $11.6 billion a year.
  Mr. Speaker, what is even more important than that is the 
accomplishment and the statement that home schooling makes, because it 
reinforces the notion that parents are the primary educators for 
children and bear the ultimate responsibility for the education of 
their children. This is true whether a child is educated at home or 
whether by a hired professional that serves as a school teacher.
  Parents are responsible for educating their child. And in the public 
school setting or private school setting that parent, and as a 
community hiring professional educators to assist them in that job and 
in that role, but it is always the parent that bears that ultimate 
responsibility, that always bears the ultimate authority over making 
the decisions about what is in the best interest of that child and 
being the judge of whether a child is on track in receiving the kind of 
education that is appropriate and earns the confidence of those 
children.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank one individual, Kevin 
Lundberg, who lived in Berthoud, Colorado. He is the one who first 
suggested this idea to me, and it was modeled after a similar 
resolution that was passed in the Colorado State General Assembly. Mr. 
Lundberg played the primary role in helping to draft this legislation 
and pointing out many of the accomplishments of home school students.
  I would like to suggest that those 1.7 million Americans who are home 
educated today join a pretty impressive list of home educated 
Americans. Let me read that list. Some have been mentioned earlier: 
George Washington, Patrick Henry, John Quincy Adams, John Marshall, 
Robert E. Lee, Booker T. Washington, Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln, 
Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Mark Twain, William Carey, Phyllis 
Wheatley, Andrew Carnegie, and many, many more who were educated at 
home.
  Once again, home education week is celebrated next week starting 
October 1. It is a celebration that is well deserved and one that the 
entire country should participate in. I am grateful, Mr. Speaker, that 
those who are here on the floor tonight, and others who have supported 
this resolution through cosponsorship and other kind words that have 
been added into the record, have also added to the celebration and 
shown their support and confidence in the revolution that is taking 
place, the leadership that is taking place in education through home 
educators, the students, and all those who are involved in the 
movement.
  Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support H. Res. 578, which 
celebrates the accomplishments of parents across the nation who have 
chosen to educate their children at home by designating the first week 
of October as ``National Home Schooling Week.'' While serving in 
Congress, I have had the opportunity to get to know many of the home-
schooling parents in my district. I am very impressed by the job these 
parents are doing in

[[Page H8188]]

providing their children with a quality education. I have also found 
that home schooling parents are among the most committed activists in 
the cause of advancing individual liberty, constitutional government, 
and traditional values. I am sure my colleagues on the Education 
Committee would agree that the support of home schoolers was crucial in 
defeating the scheme to implement a national student test.
  Home schooling is becoming a popular option for parents across the 
country. In Texas alone, there are approximately 75,000 home schooling 
families educating an average of three children per household. Home 
schooling is producing some outstanding results. For example, according 
to a 1997 study the average home schooled student scores near the 19th 
percentile on standardized academic achievement tests in reading, 
mathematics, social studies, and science. Further proof of the success 
of home schooling is the fact that in recent years, self-identified 
home schoolers have scored well above the national average on both the 
Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the American College Test (ACT). All 
home schooled children, regardless of race, income-level, or gender 
achieve these high scores.
  Contrary to media-generated stereotypes portraying home schooled 
children as isolated from their peers, home schooled children 
participate in a wide variety of social, athletic, and extra-curricular 
activities. Home schooling parents have formed numerous organizations 
designed to provide their children ample opportunity to interact with 
other children. In fact, recent data indicates that almost 50 percent 
of home schooled children engage in extra-curricular activities such as 
group sports and music classes, while a third of home schooled children 
perform volunteer work in their communities.
  Mr. Speaker, to be a home schooling parent takes a unique dedication 
to family and education. In many cases, home school families must forgo 
the second income of one parent, as well as incurring the costs of 
paying for textbooks, computers, and other school supplies. Home 
schooling parents must pay these expenses while, like All-American 
families, struggling to pay state, local, and federal taxes.
  In order to help home schoolers, and all parents, devote more of 
their resources to their children's education, I have introduced the 
Family Education Freedom Act (H.R. 935). This bill provides all parents 
a $3,000 per child tax credit for K-12 education expenses. This bill 
will help home school parents to provide their children a first-class 
education in a loving home environment.
  The Family Education Freedom Act will also benefit those parents who 
choose to send their children to public or private schools. Parents who 
choose to send their children to private school may use their tax 
credit to help cover the cost of tuition. Parents who choose to send 
their children to public schools may use their tax credit to help 
finance the purchase of educational tools such as computers or 
extracurricular activities like music programs. Parents may also use 
the credit to pay for tutoring and other special services for their 
children.
  Mr. Speaker, the best way to improve education is to return control 
over education resources to the people who best know their children's 
unique needs: those children's parents. Congress should empower all 
parents, whether they choose to home school or send their child to a 
public or private school, with the means to control their child's 
education. That is why I believe the most important education bill 
introduced in this Congress is the Family Education Freedom Act.
  In conclusion, I once again wish to express my strong support for H. 
Res. 578 and urge all my colleagues to support this resolution and 
acknowledge the accomplishments of those parents who have avoided the 
problems associated with an education controlled by federal 
``educrats'' by choosing to educate their children at home. I also urge 
my colleagues to help home schoolers, and all parents, ensure their 
children get a quality education by cosponsoring the Family Education 
Freedom Act.

                              {time}  2230

  Mr. SCHAFFER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Shimkus). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Schaffer) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, House Resolution 578.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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