[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 57 (Tuesday, May 1, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H1685-H1688]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


               SUPPORTING A NATIONAL CHARTER SCHOOLS WEEK

  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 95) supporting a National Charter 
Schools Week, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 95

       Whereas charter schools are public schools authorized by a 
     designated public body and operating on the principles of 
     accountability, parental involvement, choice, and autonomy;
       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 
     $500,000,000 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 part C of title X of the Elementary and 
     Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8061 et seq.);
       Whereas 34 States, the District of Columbia, and the 
     Commonwealth of Puerto Rico are serving approximately 550,000 
     students in more than 2,150 charter schools during the 2000 
     to 2001 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, minority students, 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 part C of title X 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 House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That--
       (1) the Congress acknowledges and commends the charter 
     school movement for its contribution to improving our 
     Nation's public school system; and
       (2) it is the sense of the Congress that--
       (A) a National Charter Schools Week should be established; 
     and
       (B) the President should issue a proclamation calling on 
     the people of the United States to conduct appropriate 
     programs, ceremonies, and activities to demonstrate support 
     for charter schools in communities throughout the Nation.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Keller) and the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Roemer) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Keller).


                             General Leave

  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on the concurrent resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of House Concurrent 
Resolution 95, which acknowledges and commends the charter school 
movement for its contribution to improving our Nation's public school 
system, and calls for a National Charter Schools Week to be 
established.
  We have all seen the results of inflicting the many unfunded mandates 
on our Nation's public schools, and believe that the charter school 
movement, led by California, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, 
Minnesota, New Mexico, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin in the early 1990s, 
is a direct result of the desire for parents to increase their personal 
involvement and control of their children's education.
  My home State of Florida passed its charter school law in 1996. The 
latest information available shows that there are 149 charter schools 
operating in the State of Florida serving over 27,000 students.
  New charter schools have swept the country to the point of including 
36 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico. This represents a 
clear change in how education is disseminated across the great country.
  There are nearly 2,150 charter schools across the country serving 
almost 550,000 children. Laboratories of learning are being established 
from coast-to-coast, and the common denominator between them all is a 
staunch desire for local hands-on control by parents and teachers. From 
back-to-back basic schools in Arizona to magnet programs in Colorado, 
they are all proving that there is not just one way to teach.
  Two weeks ago, the State of Indiana passed a very strong charter 
school law which will likely rank the State in the top dozen of States 
with the strongest laws. This is an outstanding victory for parents and 
teachers, who have been waiting a long time to affect their children's 
education in a positive way.
  A recent report by professor Scott Milliman of James Madison 
University, Frederick Hess, and Robert Maranto of the University of 
Virginia, and social psychologist April Gresham, revealed that the 
establishment of charter schools has spurred noticeable differences in 
the public school system.
  For example, based on a March, 1998, survey of Arizona public school 
teachers, the researchers concluded that the power of choice and market 
competition from charter schools led to the following changes between 
the 1994-1995 and the 1997-1998 school years.
  First, districts made greater attempts to inform parents about school 
programs and options. Second, districts placed greater emphasis on 
promoting professional development for teachers. Third, school 
principals increased consultation with the teaching staffs.
  The authors also found that charter schools do not replace district 
schools, but rather, push district schools to compete, primarily 
because State subsidies follow the students.
  This resolution supporting National Charter Schools Week must be used 
as a means of celebrating true diversity: diversity in education, 
diversity in learning, and diversity in thought. Supporting National 
Charter Schools Week lends credence to the proclamation that not 
everyone thinks alike and not everyone learns alike.
  Combined with the Charter Schools Expansion Act from the 105th 
Congress, it acknowledges the success of thinking outside the box by 
supporting and commending those communities who have chosen to take 
control of their own destiny.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROEMER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for helping manage 
the bill here today, a charter school bill which will establish this 
week as the National Charter Schools Week, named House Resolution 95.
  As our Founding Fathers contemplated the importance of what American 
society might look like in the ensuing decades after they wrote the 
Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, George 
Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison all talked 
of the extreme importance put forward on an enlightened society, on an 
educated society.
  Now, today, in the year 2001, we should put even more importance on 
our public education school system, on a system that is visionary, that 
is accountable, that is flexible, that provides more public school 
choices to our parents to send their children to the very best kinds of 
schools.
  Charter schools, I believe, are part of this effort. Charter schools 
are part of an effort to provide more vision, more flexibility, more 
reform, more options, more parental choices, more teacher curriculum, 
curriculum developed at the local level into the schools.
  They might even expand on the school day or the length of the school 
year, providing more and more options for our schools in an 
increasingly globally-oriented economy.

[[Page H1686]]

  When our kids fail, if our kids do not succeed in public education 
today, it is almost as if a death sentence has been laid upon their 
heads. If they fail and drop out of school as a third-grader, at 13, or 
if one does not get that high school degree, our children are almost 
destined to failure, or oriented toward juvenile reform, prison, and 
problems where it gets increasingly difficult for us to rescue them. So 
charter schools are part of this effort to reform our schools and 
change the way we currently educate our children.
  I am also extremely pleased, as we talk about charter schools, that 
very soon after the State legislature has passed a new charter school 
bill, the Governor of our State, Governor Frank O'Bannon, will sign 
Indiana's charter schools into law.

                              {time}  1530

  We will become the 38th State with charter schools in this Nation. 
Charter Schools Week will seek to recognize the accomplishment of 
charter schools around the country. Charter Schools, as I said before, 
stress the principles of accountability, parent flexibility, choice and 
autonomy. Charter schools are public schools that respond to an 
increasingly high demand for choices from parents, from students, from 
teachers designed at the local level so that we can respond to the 
challenges in that local community.
  All different kinds of States, the District of Columbia, and the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico are serving more than 500,000 students in 
almost 2,100 charter schools.
  I am especially happy that in many of these charter schools, we have 
about 7 out of 10 have waiting lists. Seven out of 10 of the charter 
schools have people waiting to get more of their students into the 
schools. So that proves that more and more parents want to get their 
children into a charter school.
  There is a criticism of charter schools, and that is that some of 
them have been shut down, some of them have not worked. We have about a 
4 percent failure rate in our charter schools. There are some that do 
not want to talk about that. As a matter of fact, I think the fact that 
charter schools are accountable can be closed down, can be 
reconstituted, can be put on probation and turned around or permanently 
closed, I think, is a benefit in favor of charter schools.
  Out of over 2,000 charter schools, 59, 59 have closed down for 
various reasons; that is about a 4 percent failure rate, about a 4 
percent failure rate at the over 2,100 charter schools where we can 
make them accountable, where we can reconstitute them, where we can put 
them on probation and ultimately either make them perform better, close 
them down and allow students to go to other public schools.
  I am also very proud of the fact that as we look at charter schools 
across the country, whether they are in California or Arizona or the 
first State to have charter schools, Minnesota, charter schools also 
reflect the diversity of our schools across the country in public 
education.
  We have a charter school out in California, where we have had people 
come in to testify before our Committee on Education and the Workforce 
called Fenton Charter School, which has over 90 percent eligible for 
free and reduced lunches, over 90 percent African American and Hispanic 
enrollment rate, and have seen incredibly good increases in the scores 
in mathematics, in science, in reading take place since it has changed 
to a charter school.
  So we are seeing schools that reflect a rich diversity of this 
country, have charter schools and then succeed in terms of educating, 
graduating and promoting their students.
  I am delighted to join with my colleagues today in this resolution, 
H. Con. Res. 95 to establish this week as National Charter Schools 
Week. I am anxious to talk about charter schools as we start debate 
tomorrow in the Committee on Education and the Workforce as we 
reauthorize the ESEA Act as we look forward to, hopefully, a bipartisan 
bill that is going to move us forward in terms of our education reform 
in this country.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentlewoman from the District 
of Columbia (Ms. Norton), who, I think, has been a very, very eloquent 
and articulate spokesperson for public education in this country and 
someone who has been to many of the charter schools that are here in 
the District of Columbia.
  I have had the pleasure of going to two or three of those schools and 
have seen the great job that many of those charter schools are doing 
with respect to students with limited English proficiency, with respect 
to students eligible for free and reduced lunches, and the increased 
graduation rates that those schools are achieving in the District of 
Columbia.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I kindly thank the gentleman from Indiana 
(Mr. Roemer) for yielding the time to me.
  I congratulate him and the sponsor of this resolution, the gentleman 
from Florida (Mr. Keller). I want to commend him for his leadership, 
particularly on charter schools, which stands out in the stellar 
leadership that he has given on the issue of education during his years 
in the Congress.
  I come to the floor because the District of Columbia is proud to say 
that it has probably, I think I can say without contradiction, a 
greater percentage of its children in charter schools than any school 
district in the United States. And part of the reason for this is the 
accommodation of the Congress with me in 1995.
  There were fierce fights about vouchers and the imposition of 
vouchers on the District of Columbia. And, yet, the majority had a 
point, you cannot say to somebody in the first grade, we will get these 
schools fixed maybe by the time you are out of school altogether.
  The child is in the first grade only once, and I was particularly 
open to the notion of charter schools as an alternative to the public 
schools of the District of Columbia, even though I was then and remain 
opposed to vouchers which the people of the District of Columbia 
strongly oppose, believing that public money should go to public 
schools, either public schools in the regular public school system or 
public charter schools; and we believe that our experience indicates 
that this is by far the best alternative for those truly searching for 
an alternative to public schools which need fixing.
  The Congress passed a school reform bill which was, in essence, a 
public charter bill for the District of Columbia in 1995. Look what has 
happened since then. Thirteen percent of all public school students in 
the District of Columbia are enrolled in 40 public charter schools. 
There are public charter schools in seven out of our eight wards. 
Nearly two thirds of all the public charter school students qualify for 
free or reduced lunch, yet about half of our public charter schools 
offer academically rigorous curricula of the liberal arts.
  Many of the rest offer curricula in particular subject matters, the 
arts, foreign language, immersion, technology.
  The rate at which charter schools have come on line in the District 
of Columbia is a model for an alternative school system within the 
public school system for our country. Over 70 percent of the D.C. 
public charter schools have fewer than 300 students and small classes 
are the norm in these charter schools. Many of the parents say they 
want the charter schools for this reason; they wanted smaller classes. 
They wanted smaller schools, and they wanted to be freed from the 
central bureaucracy of the public school system.
  They wanted to innovate. Interestingly at the moment, Mr. Speaker, 
the scores of our public school children are better than the scores of 
our charter school children. Our public schools have a new mayor, a new 
school board and new rigor; but we are proud and pleased that we have 
this great diversity of charter schools here.
  The charter schools have pushed our public schools, so that now our 
public schools are doing very much better than they were doing. And the 
very thing that we said we wanted the charter schools to do, to be a 
competitive force to the public schools, has come true.
  We do not believe, by the way, that private schools would be that 
kind of competitive force, because the private schools are outside of 
the public school systems. We have some of the best private schools in 
the United States, some of the best private Catholic schools and some 
of the best private schools that are secular. But when you see a school 
in your neighborhood dealing with precisely the same children you are 
dealing with last year and they now have

[[Page H1687]]

moved to another school and they would rather be in that school, that, 
my friend, is competition.
  That is why we believe that the best competition for the public 
schools are not vouchers, are not fancy schools, by or whatever other 
name you call them. But a charter school right next to a public school 
where the child is going, compare how those children are doing, and 
then you will have real competition between your public school and your 
charter school. And your public school will do what our public schools 
are doing, our public schools will have to do better.
  Mr. ROEMER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to say to the gentlewoman from the District 
of Columbia (Ms. Norton), my classmate from the 1990's election, that 
in the charter schools that I have visited across the country, 
certainly the charter schools in the District of Columbia stand out as 
some of the very best.
  I remember charter schools that I visited a couple of years ago right 
here on the Hill, where they had smaller classes, they were also 
teaching some of the more challenged students, students that had 
actually dropped out of other schools and had, I believe, a 15 percent 
to 20 percent higher graduation rate from that particular charter 
school than the surrounding public schools taking on some of the most 
at-risk and challenging students.
  I commend the job that those charter schools are doing. These charter 
schools are a choice, a public school choice, a supplement to the 
system. I know in the charter schools that I visited in Chicago that 
they are part of the reform efforts successfully taking place to make 
the Chicago schools better and better and better schools in one of the 
biggest school districts in the country.
  We are delighted to have this resolution before us.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 
95, supporting National Charter Schools Week.
  Franklin Roosevelt once said that, ``we cannot always build the 
future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.'' I 
truly believe that statement. The proper education of all children is 
essential in order to build our youth for the future. We do not have a 
more important issue in American today than investing in our children 
by making sure they have a quality education. In celebrating National 
Charter Schools Week, we recognize the principle in highlighting many 
accomplishments of charter schools around the country.
  Charter schools are public schools that are given flexibility and 
independence in exchange for being held accountable for improving 
student achievement and for their financial operations. They provide a 
different and unique model for public schools with new, innovative 
programming and smaller class sizes without so much red tape. Unlike 
vouchers, charter schools do not take money from public schools because 
the public funds remain in the public school system.
  In 1994, there were less than a dozen charter schools in America. 
Today there are more than 2,150 charter schools across the nation. 
Currently, 36 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have 
passed laws authorizing charter schools. Although in my home state of 
Maryland, the General Assembly again failed to pass legislation 
authorizing the establishment of public charter schools, I am pleased 
that Baltimore City has a few schools similar to charter schools. My 
daughter attends one of these schools in Baltimore City.
  As the national debate on how to improve our public schools 
continues, we must do all we can to hire more teachers, reduce class 
size, modernize our nation's public school, put computers in every 
classroom, and encourage parental involvement. Supporting the creation 
of charter public schools is one concept that will help improve public 
schools because charter schools pressure the more traditional public 
schools to continue to strive for excellence.
  As this body considers various education initiatives, such as ESEA, 
and education funding, let us be committed to supporting creative 
solutions, such as public charter schools, while ensuring that we 
maintain quality education for all of our nation's youth.
  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, in honor of National Charter Schools Week, 
I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 95.
  This weeklong celebration, which started yesterday and runs through 
Friday, is co-sponsored by more than seventy grassroots charter support 
organizations and is coordinated by the Charter Friends National 
Network.
  Although a relatively new phenomenon, charter schools have been at 
the cutting edge of educational reform for the past several years.
  In exchange for flexibility and freedom from regulations, charter 
schools are held accountable for improving the academic performance of 
their students. This newfound flexibility and freedom has not only 
translated into higher test scores, but also innovative practices. It 
has empowered parents with the ability to seek out the best education 
possible for their children.
  In fact, we have done our best to mirror these same principles of 
freedom, flexibility and accountability throughout the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act in H.R. 1, the No Child Left Behind Act of 
2001, which we are marking up in committee tomorrow.
  Currently, 36 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have 
passed charter school laws and more than a half million students attend 
charter public schools nation-wide. My hope is that one day, in the not 
so distant future, every state will have passed a charter school law.
  That said, Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate all the 
students, parents, teachers, principals and administrators who have 
embraced the charter school movement. I would also like to thank Mr. 
Tancredo,  Mr. Keller, and Mr. Roemer for their efforts in bringing 
this important resolution to the House floor.
  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak in support of this 
resolution that recognizes the charter school movement for its 
contribution to improving our Nation's public school system.
  I have been a strong supporter of the charter school movement since 
1992 when former Representatives Penny and McCurdy and I introduced the 
Public School Redefinition Act of 1992. That bill was based on 
legislation introduced the year before by Senators Durenberger of 
Minnesota and Lieberman of Connecticut. This was the very beginning of 
Congressional efforts to encourage charter schools.
  I am happy to say that the bipartisan efforts of a handful of 
dedicated individuals resulted in the subsequent creation by Congress 
of a federal Public Charter Schools program in 1994.
  Later, the Charter School Expansion Act of 1998 revised the Public 
Charter Schools statute by, among other things, increasing its 
authorization and giving priority for grants to states providing 
charter schools with financial autonomy.
  The charter school movement, we should note, is a true grassroots 
movement. This movement was started in the early 1990s by concerned 
parents and frustrated teachers who were tired of the status quo, tired 
of fighting the bureaucracy that smothers innovation, and tired of 
seeing their children sink into mediocrity and failure.
  It is therefore important to keep in mind that Congress should try to 
avoid imposing federally prescribed requirements such as teacher 
certification.
  According to the Charter Friends National Network, ``More than two-
thirds of the states--with more than 80% of the charters--currently 
have some degree of flexibility in allowing use of teacher 
qualifications other than traditional certification.'' Any attempt to 
apply a teacher certification mandate to charter schools would 
jeopardize their very nature, which is based on autonomy in exchange 
for academic achievement.
  In my state of Wisconsin, I am proud to say that we have a strong 
charter school and school choice program--especially in the city of 
Milwaukee where we have the support of education-reform minded 
individuals such as former school superintendent Howard Fuller and 
Mayor John Norquist.
  Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is that charter schools work. They work 
because they are freed from burdensome regulations, and in return, they 
are held accountable for academic results.
  I want to commend the gentleman from Colorado, Representative 
Tancredo, for introducing this resolution. I appreciate the opportunity 
to speak in support of this measure, and I urge may colleagues to 
support and promote a National Charter Schools Week.
  Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support and recognition of 
Charter schools. Charter schools, which are public schools authorized 
by a designated public body, were established with the goal to enhance 
school organization and instruction. Charter schools operate on the 
principles of accountability, parent flexibility, choice, and autonomy.
  Charter schools provide an invaluable means of improving student 
achievement for all who are enrolled in them. Charter public schools 
are held to highest standards and act as a vehicle for stimulating 
positive change and improvement in all public schools. As a member of 
the House Education and Workforce Committee, I am committed to fighting 
for improvement in our Nation's education system and charter schools 
have the ability to enhance the quality of education for all public 
school students.
  There are 36 States, along with the District of Columbia, and the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico that have passed laws authorizing

[[Page H1688]]

charter school. My home state of Wisconsin currently supports 95 
charter schools, educating 7,210 students. There are over 550,000 
students enrolled in 2,150 charter schools nationwide. Not only is 
education a top priority, but it is the key to a successful future. 
These schools are providing an excellent education for the American 
youth.
  Many charter schools serve significant numbers of students with lower 
income minority students, and students with disabilities. A charter 
school does not and cannot discriminate against any student. The 
contract for the schools is required to explain how the school will 
achieve a racial and ethnic balance among its pupils that reflects the 
school district population.
  Charter schools have the unique ability and freedom of setting up 
their own governance and administrative structures. Many of the schools 
create decision-making boards that include some or all of a school's 
teachers, while others have parent-teacher committees to address 
various school needs. Some schools have students playing a vital role 
in their governing bodies.
  Over the years, charter schools have received significant bipartisan 
support from the Administration, the Congress, State governors and 
legislators, educators, and parents throughout the Nation because the 
schools have been effectively educating their students. A good 
education is invaluable to any student and we have the responsibility 
to provide every child with the opportunity to learn. The Nation should 
take a week to honor the model education system set up by the charter 
schools.
  Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Con. 
Res. 95. I am proud to acknowledge and commend the charter school 
movement for its contribution to improving out nation's public school 
system. A charter education is a special and rigorous public education 
for more than 500,000 children nationwide. Charter schools serve a 
broad range of students, many of which better meet the needs of 
students than conventional schools. Charter schools exercise increased 
autonomy in return for increased accountability. They are accountable 
for both academic results and fiscal practices to their sponsors, their 
parents, and the public.
  The charter schools in my district, Syzygy Charter School, Visional 
Academy Charter School, Tomorrow's Builders Charter School, and Fort 
Bowman Academy Charter School, increase opportunities for learning and 
access to quality education for all students, create choice for parents 
and students within the public school system, encourage innovative 
teaching practices, and encourage community and parent involvement in 
public education.
  Mr. Speaker, it is important to establish a National Charter School 
Week. The charter schools in my district and nationwide demonstrate 
impressive levels of achievement and accomplishment, and I commend them 
for their continued dedication to serve. For these reasons, I support 
this legislation.
  Mr. ROEMER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Linder). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Keller) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 
95, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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