[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 76 (Tuesday, June 11, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5341-S5343]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               EDUCATION

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, in the Washington Post today in the front

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section on page A3, there is an article titled: ``Report Urges Stricter 
Tests for Teachers, Expertise Is Stressed Over Theory.''
  This is an important report. It is one that underscores what a number 
of other reports have said, including those by the National Center on 
Education Information, which is a report that was out earlier this 
year, and the was a very solid report from 1996, which is most 
comprehensive on teacher quality, called ``What Matters Most: Teaching 
for America's Future.'' The Administration's report is very important 
because it outlines the challenges we face.
  I want to give an assurance to the American people that we do not 
need more legislation. We already have the legislation in place in the 
No Child Left Behind Act, and in the Higher Education Act of 1998, 
that, if fully implemented and funded, would address the real 
challenges we are facing in the States. We know that we need to hire 
over 2 million teachers over the next ten years, we need to improve 
teacher preparation, and we need to increase professional development. 
But we don't need new legislation. The No Child Left Behind Act 
requires 100-highly percent qualified teachers in our classrooms in 
four years. I believe that is the most important ingredient to have a 
well-qualified teacher in every classroom, increase professional 
development each year, and provide funding for mentoring.
  The Higher Education Act, title II, provides funding for States and 
universities to improve the teacher preparation with high-quality 
strategies, including improving alternative routes to certification, 
and improving the quality of colleges of education.

  Mr. President, what is left out of the report is the need for 
resources to help states meet these goals. We need resources to be able 
to achieve these goals for the children in this country. We need to do 
more than just count on alternative routes to certification. 
Alternative routes to certification could provide, at best, one-third 
of all of the teachers we need in our public school systems. For 
example, the Troops to Teachers only places about 700 teachers per 
year. We need to hire more than 200,000 teachers per year to address 
the shortages. Many of these new teachers need to have specialized 
training in special education, math and bilingual education. The 
alternative route programs can provide some assistance, but they are 
not the core of the solution. The solution lies in improving all of the 
teacher preparation and training programs and providing all teachers 
with the ongoing support they need once they are in the classroom.
  Some traditional teacher preparation programs and alternative routes 
are successful. All the successful programs have the same 
characteristics. The recent report by the National Center on 
Educational Information said that a successful alternative route 
program is specifically designed to recruit individuals with college 
degrees; that is, the emphasis is on content. Such a program has a 
rigorous screening process to attract high-quality candidates. The 
program is field based to give practical experience through 
internships. New teachers receive mentoring from trained teachers. 
Candidates must meet high standards upon completion.
  The 1996 report had similar characteristics for a high-quality 
teacher preparation program at universities: organize teacher education 
around standards for students and teachers; develop and extend year-
long programs with year-long internships; create and fund mentoring 
programs; and create high-quality sources of professional development 
for ongoing support.
  So the Administration's report is useful and valuable today, but this 
is something we have understood now for a number of years. It really is 
nothing very new. The statistics may give us more recent information on 
particular States, but we know what needs to be done. We outlined in 
the No Child Left Behind legislation a series of programs to help and 
assist the States to address the teacher shortage, but the 
administration has requested zero increase in their proposed budget for 
improved teacher quality and reduced class size. There is an excellent 
study that says all these things need to be done--better training, 
recruitment, professional development and mentoring. We have to do 
them. But when it comes to the resources to be provided, we are just 
not getting it from the administration. That, I think, is a matter of 
enormous importance.
  All of us want to address the kinds of needs that are outlined in 
this report. It is a good report. But in order to do that, it means 
funding the various programs that we have that are out there and in 
existence.
  Mr. President, I want to mention several of the programs that the 
administration failed to fund this year that cut teacher quality 
programs by $155 million this year. They include: The elimination of 
funding for preparing tomorrow's teachers to use technology is 
enormously important. You can get the new technology in the classroom, 
but unless the teacher understands how to use the technology and how to 
develop the curriculum to use the technology, you have missed the 
opportunity for success.

  This program was oversubscribed, but it was eliminated by the 
Administration. Funding for the National Board for Professional 
Teaching Standards, which is enormously important, was eliminated. 
Certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching 
Standards, all across the country, is the key for increasing 
compensation, increasing professionalism, and increasing success. The 
National Board has been incredibly important and effective and yet the 
Bush Administration eliminates it.
  The Bush budget eliminates programs to prepare teachers to teach 
writing and civics, and provides a 50-percent cut in grants to help 
train teachers to teach American history.
  So the point I am making, Mr. President, is that we can have these 
studies and they can point out what the problem is, but we know what 
the problem is, but we already know what the problem is. What it takes 
now is the increased investment in the No Child Left Behind Act and 
other programs that can really make a difference in terms of teacher 
quality.
  We have to look at this in a comprehensive manner. We need to improve 
working conditions for teachers, including increasing pay, increasing 
the prestige of teaching, and improving schools so they are safe, 
modern places in which teachers can work and children can learn. Many 
schools have obsolete, crumbling, and inadequate facilities. All 
teachers and students deserve safe, modern facilities with up-to-date 
technology. Sending teachers and children to dilapidated and 
overcrowded classrooms sends an unacceptable message. It tells them 
they don't matter. No CEO would tolerate a leaky ceiling in the 
boardroom--and no teacher should have to tolerate it in the classroom.
  This is all part of what we have to understand if we are going to 
expect that we are going to get quality teachers to teach in our 
schools.
  Mr. President, this is just a final point I want to mention on the 
subject. Despite the goals we share in the recent report, I am 
concerned that the administration is not meeting the letter of the law 
in implementing the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act to 
ensure a high-quality teacher in every classroom.
  In the draft guidance of the new ESEA title II Teaching Quality 
Program, released on June 6, the Department proposes a large loophole 
for alternative routes to certification that I believe violates the law 
and could lower teacher quality.
  The guidance says: ``Any Teacher who has obtained full state 
certification, whether he or she has achieved certification through 
traditional or alternative routes, has a four-year college degree, and 
has demonstrated subject matter competence, is considered to be highly 
qualified under the law. Teachers who are participating in an 
alternative route program may be considered to meet certification 
requirements of the definition of a highly qualified teacher if 
participants in the program are permitted by the state to assume 
functions as regular classroom teachers and are making satisfactory 
progress towards full certification as prescribed by the state and the 
program.''
  This creates a double standard when it comes to teachers working 
through alternate routes compared to teachers working through the 
regular certification program--those working

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through the regular certification program must be fully certified--no 
emergency, temporary provisional certification.
  Alternate route teachers can be considered highly qualified while 
holding a provisional certification while they are working to obtain 
full certification. This is inconsistent with the definition in the 
ESEA which holds the same standards for all teachers.
  I hope the draft guidance will be changed to ensure when we say all 
teachers will be highly qualified, we mean all teachers are highly 
qualified. We do not want to find on the one hand statements about the 
importance of these findings, and then on the other hand have the 
drafting of rules and regulations which are going to result in lower 
standards for the teachers in the classroom.
  We welcome this report, but it comes back again to the issue of 
whether we are prepared to help the States, schools, parents, and 
children in this country by helping ensure there is a well-qualified 
teacher in every classroom. We have the legislation. We have followed 
these various recommendations, and all we need is the investment to 
make this happen. That is why we are going to continue to battle for 
the children of this country by insisting that we have an adequate 
budget invested in teacher quality.
  I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Carper). The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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