[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 51 (Wednesday, May 3, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H1988-H1992]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONGRATULATING CHARTER SCHOOLS AND THEIR STUDENTS, PARENTS, TEACHERS,
AND ADMINISTRATORS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES FOR THEIR ONGOING
CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATION
Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the
resolution (H. Res. 781), congratulating charter schools and their
students, parents, teachers, and administrators across the United
States for their ongoing contributions to education, and for other
purposes.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Res. 781
Whereas charter schools deliver high-quality education and
challenge our students to reach their potential;
Whereas charter schools provide thousands of families with
diverse and innovative educational options for their
children;
Whereas charter schools are public schools authorized by a
designated public entity that are responding to the needs of
our communities, families, and students and promoting the
principles of quality, choice, and innovation;
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 40 States and the District of Columbia have passed
laws authorizing charter schools;
Whereas over 3,600 charter schools are now operating in 40
States and the District of Columbia serving more than 1
million students;
Whereas over the last 12 years, Congress has provided
nearly $1,775,000,000 in support to the charter school
movement through facilities financing assistance and grants
for planning, startup, implementation, and dissemination;
Whereas charter schools improve their students' achievement
and stimulate improvement in traditional public schools;
Whereas charter schools must meet the student achievement
accountability requirements under the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 in the same manner as
traditional public schools, and often set higher and
additional individual goals to ensure that they are of high
quality and truly accountable to the public;
Whereas charter schools give parents new freedom to choose
their public school, routinely measure parental satisfaction
levels, and must prove their ongoing success to parents,
policymakers, and their communities;
Whereas nearly 56 percent of charter schools report having
a waiting list, and the total number of students on all such
waiting lists is enough to fill over 1,100 average-sized
charter schools;
Whereas charter schools nationwide serve a higher
percentage of low-income and minority students than the
traditional public system;
Whereas charter schools have enjoyed broad bipartisan
support from the Administration, Congress, State Governors
and legislatures, educators, and parents across the United
States; and
Whereas the seventh annual National Charter Schools Week,
to be held May 1 through 6, 2006, is an event sponsored by
charter schools and grassroots charter school organizations
across the United States to recognize the significant
impacts, achievements, and innovations of charter schools:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That--
(1) the House of Representatives acknowledges and commends
charter schools and their students, parents, teachers, and
administrators across the United States for their ongoing
contributions to education and improving and strengthening
our public school system;
(2) the House of Representatives supports the seventh
annual National Charter Schools Week; and
(3) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that
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 during this weeklong celebration in communities
throughout the United States.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Nevada (Mr. Porter) and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Nevada.
[[Page H1989]]
{time} 1045
General Leave
Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on
H. Res. 781.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bonner). Is there objection to the
request of the gentleman from Nevada?
There was no objection.
Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, this resolution honors the Nation's charter schools; the
parents; the teachers; of course, the students; administrators; and
other individuals involved with their hard work and dedication to run
quality public education.
This week, May 1 through May 7, has been designated National Charter
Schools Week. During this week, charter school organizations and others
around the United States recognize these schools for their continued
contribution to education. The Nation's charter schools deliver high-
quality education and challenge students to reach their potential.
When President Bush took office in 2001, there were only about 2,000
charter schools nationwide, where today there are approximately 3,600
serving over 1 million students in 40 States, including the District of
Columbia and Puerto Rico. In Nevada, we have 18 charter schools serving
approximately 5,000 students. I am very proud to have been involved
with Nevada's first legislation in 1997 to introduce and to pass our
first charter school legislation.
We also have an example of a charter school that is nationally
recognized, and that is the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy,
and it serves as a model for other schools across the country. It is
designed to enhance a student's character, respect, motivation and
self-discipline. Agassi Prep, as the school has been nicknamed,
specifically is to improve skill levels and combat lowered academic
expectations among the community's most challenged children. Advanced
technology, small class size, and extended school hours are just a few
of the practices that Agassi Prep utilizes to achieve a higher standard
of education.
I commend the charter schools in the State of Nevada and across this
great Nation for recognizing the immense need for improved education
and for their commitment to improving student achievement for students
who attend these schools.
Nationwide, charter schools serve a very special need. Many of the
schools under their charter take care of kids with special needs, from
hearing to speaking to other challenges. Even in the State of Nevada,
we have a charter school that was designated through its charter to
serve children from the State of California that are juvenile
delinquents.
Charter schools provide a great service to our communities, grade
schools, all different levels of schools across the country, to provide
parents, communities, leaders, business, all members of the community
access and the ability to be involved in education.
Nearly 56 percent of charter schools report having a waiting list,
and the total number of students on such waiting lists is enough to
fill another 1,000 average size charter schools across the Nation. By
allowing parents and students to choose their public schools or charter
schools, we can stimulate change and benefit all public school
students.
In exchange for flexibility and autonomy, public charter schools are
held accountable by their sponsors for improving student achievement
and for their administration. A charter school is just that. A charter
school is a school with a contract of performance. If they do not
perform, if they do not provide excellence in education, these schools
can lose their charters.
Charter schools must meet the same No Child Left Behind student
achievement accountability requirements as other public schools and
often set higher and additional individual goals to ensure that they
are all high quality and truly accountable to the public.
According to the Center for Education Reform, as many as 15 studies
find that students who frequently enter charters significantly are
below the normal grade level. These students then achieve the same or
even higher gains as compared to their surrounding districts'
demographically compared schools or even the State averages.
A report from America's Charter School Finance Corporation called
``Take Me on a Reading Adventure'' cites research from several States
that show greater gains and/or higher scores in reading for charter
schools as compared to their traditional school peers.
Charter schools have enjoyed broad bipartisan support from the
administration, Congress, State Governors and legislators, educators,
and parents across this great Nation. The Seventh Annual National
Charter School Week, held this week, May 1 through May 7, 2006,
recognizes the significant impacts, achievements, and innovations of
our Nation's charter schools. Through this resolution, Congress today
acknowledges and commends the charter school movement and the charter
schools' students, teachers, parents, and administrators across the
United States for their ongoing contributions to education and
improving and strengthening our Nation's public schools.
Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I commend my good friend and colleague from Nevada for
his support of this resolution as well as the Chair and the Ranking
Member of the Education and the Workforce Committee. As a member of the
House Education and the Workforce Committee and as an original
cosponsor of H. Res. 781, I strongly support this resolution honoring
National Charter Schools Week.
Since the first charter school began in 1992 in St. Paul, Minnesota,
the number of charter schools has grown to over 3,600, serving more
than 1 million students across the country today. In Wisconsin, my home
State, there are nearly 200 charter schools educating close to 30,000
students; and in my congressional district in Western Wisconsin, we
have 24 charter schools.
Charter schools provide parents, along with their children, their
students, another choice within the public education system.
One school in particular that I would like to highlight during
National Charter Schools Week is LaCrosseroads in my hometown of La
Crosse, Wisconsin. It is an alternative high school. A specific project
that has become part of the curriculum at this school was introduced by
their teacher, Karen Schoenfeld; and it requires the students to record
the oral histories of our veterans and submit their histories to the
Library of Congress to be included in the Veterans History Project.
Such projects are commendable and highly valuable to our students. It
has provided a unique link between the younger generation with the
older generation and a wonderful teaching opportunity about service to
our country and a great history lesson for those students at
LaCrosseroads.
I praise teachers such as Karen Schoenfeld who have broken down
barriers to work with all students using innovative and creative
strategies to teach.
It is important that charter schools give flexibility and options to
teachers and their parents, but we must remember they are not the cure-
all for improving public education. We have to be diligent at
monitoring the success or failure of charter schools throughout the
country and not afraid of shutting down those that are not working.
That is the key to moving forward with the option of choice in our
public school system, I believe.
Charter schools have consistently been at the forefront of my
priority list, and I am pleased that Wisconsin is one of seven States
with over 100 exceptional charter schools today. I have consistently
advocated for increased support for charter schools and supported the
Charter School Facilities Financing Demonstration Program during
consideration of the No Child Left Behind legislation of 2001.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution honoring
charter schools. It is our duty as representatives of this Congress to
ensure that all our students reach their highest academic potential,
and a charter school may provide a model better suited towards an
individual student's needs.
[[Page H1990]]
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon), chairman of the full committee.
Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of House Resolution 781,
a measure to recognize charter schools, as well as their students,
parents, teachers, and administrators.
This week marks the Seventh Annual National Charter Schools Week, and
I thank my colleague Mr. Porter for taking the lead in recognizing
these schools today. Mr. Porter is a strong supporter of education and
serves on the House Education and the Workforce Committee.
Each year Congress honors charter schools and those involved in the
role they play in reforming and improving our Nation's public education
system, and for good reason. Year after year charter schools make
significant contributions across our Nation.
Charter schools are public schools that agree to improved academic
achievement and accountability in financial and other operations in
exchange for added flexibility and independence. They are subject to
all the same No Child Left Behind achievement goals as other public
schools but with greater flexibility in how they improve student
success.
This enhanced autonomy allows charter schools to focus on increasing
academic achievement for individual students rather than complying with
bureaucratic paperwork. Moreover, it allows charter schools to use
varied educational methods and techniques while accounting for their
results.
Some 3,600 charter schools serve about 1 million students in 40
States and Washington, DC. Nearly 56 percent of these charter schools
have waiting lists. In other words, they are in high demand, with that
demand growing all the time. That is because charter schools understand
how to meet the specific needs of the local communities in which they
operate, and these schools are particularly devoted to serving low-
income communities.
Nationwide, almost 50 percent of charter schools serve students
considered at-risk or who have previously dropped out of school; and
charter schools serve significant numbers of students from low-income
families, minority students, and students with disabilities. Indeed,
these innovative public schools allow many parents and students freedom
of choice that otherwise would not be available.
Mr. Speaker, through this resolution honoring National Charter
Schools Week, we recognize the continued success demonstrated by
charter schools and acknowledge the benefits that charter schools
provide to our local communities. Charter schools provide parents with
a wider variety of educational choices, and they provide students the
opportunity to receive a high-quality education that they may not have
received otherwise.
I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from the
District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), a strong advocate for our public
education system and a terrific friend of charter schools.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for
his kind words. I thank Mr. Porter for his work in bringing this
resolution to the floor.
We are right to recognize public charter schools. Public charter
schools are the most important innovation in public education since the
invention of free public education in our country. They have become so
popular, they have become a movement, growing like ``Topsy''.
The Congress, when Newt Gingrich was here, as an alternative to
vouchers, helped jump-start public charter schools in the District of
Columbia and in the Nation by passing the first public charter school
bill right here in the Congress for the District, with the agreement
and total home rule involvement of the District of Columbia. That was
in 1995. What did the schools do? They helped us jump-start a movement
that has produced in the District of Columbia the largest number of
public charter schools per capita in the United States. As I look down
the list, Mr. Speaker, the District has more charter schools, this one
city, than most States. They have really taken off for some years now
as an alternative to D.C. public schools.
When a child does not have a school that is offering that child and
that family what the child deserves, then the child must have an
alternative. It can be going out of its neighborhood; and the best
alternative and the only acceptable alternative, it seems to me, would
be some other kind of public charter school. That is what has happened
in the District of Columbia. That is why the people of the District of
Columbia resent deeply that, despite the growth of the charter school
movement, despite the fact that we have some of the best charter
schools in the country and the largest number per capita, that Congress
imposed on us something it would not accept for the rest of the
country, and that is private school vouchers.
Well, our people have voted with their feet. They want a neighborhood
school near them. These schools are very important. Most of the
religious schools are in Northwest. Most of our kids who need or want
alternative schools live in Southeast. So Congress did vouchers for
itself. It did not do it for us, and it did it against our will when,
in fact, we had demonstrated that public charter schools were, in fact,
working in D.C. and working very well.
A child must have an alternative, but that alternative cannot be one
where the public dollar is not accounted for, where there is no
oversight by the public. And I am the last one who wants oversight, for
example, of religious schools or anything involving religion. It
follows that religious schools must not be that alternative. The
thriving public charter school movement is, in fact, and should be that
alternative.
All kinds of innovations are happening in the District of Columbia
that I invite people to come and see: Shared facilities in large
buildings (instead of getting rid of the building) between public and
charter schools. Collaboration now between the best of our charter
schools and some public schools which are not doing so well. Public
schools, public charter schools, unlike many public schools even under
No Child Left Behind, are a case of the survival of the fittest.
{time} 1100
You lose your charter, in fact, if you do not measure up. That is
what happens in the District of Columbia. As far as I know, it happens
wherever the schools are well run.
Mr. Chairman, I simply want to note just for the record the kinds of
reasons that charter schools flourish. We have technology schools,
bilingual schools. We have performing arts charter schools in the
District. We have math and science charter schools. We have an
enterprising development charter school.
I would just like to have the Congress know some of the charter
schools that are regarded as the best in the United States: D.C.
Preparatory Academy Public Charter School; the Friendship Edison
Charter School; KIPP D.C., The Key Academy Public Charter School; Paul
Public Charter School.
Mr. Speaker, the District of Columbia actually has the first public
boarding school, and it is a charter school. It is called the SEED
Public Charter School. This is what you can do. This is the kind of
innovation that comes from charter schools. It doesn't come from
religious schools. They have their own way. They have had it for
hundreds of years.
If you want innovation in public education, if you want an
alternative to your public schools, the best bet are charter schools,
which will be located right in your neighborhood, which are so
accountable that they lose their charters if they do not in fact
produce.
I strongly support this resolution, and I appreciate that it has come
forward today.
Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly applaud my colleagues across the aisle for
their support, and certainly recognize the District of Columbia and its
advancement in the charter school arena.
I reflect back to 9 years ago in Nevada when we passed our first
charter legislation, and I remember a lot of
[[Page H1991]]
naysayers. As a member of the State senate at that time, I received
numerous nasty calls and lots of different opinions on the impact of
charter schools on traditional public education.
The problem was, at that time, in those days, a lot of the naysayers
didn't realize that this would remain and would be a public school. But
it truly is an example of success nationwide.
If we look at the classroom in the last 100 years, it looks just
about like it did 100 years ago. If you look at the operating room in a
hospital, it changed substantially, with new technologies and new
techniques.
The one thing that has worked so well with charter schools is that so
many diverse groups that were opposed to this have come together and
have found and shown nationwide the success of helping children have
the finest education; no matter what their background, what their
physical handicap, that they can truly have a success.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be here today to recognize charter schools
across the Nation. To those of our forefathers, just a short decade
ago, especially here in the District of Columbia, to my friend, the
gentlewoman who is the Congresswoman here, I thank them for their
support.
Again, this is just the beginning. The more we can encourage charter
schools across the Nation to encourage parents, teachers,
administrators, business leaders and community leaders to get involved,
the better we are going to help our children.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my friend and colleague
on the Education and Workforce Committee, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr.
Kucinich).
Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin. I
want to say what a pleasure it is to serve with him on the committee.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring a note of caution to the
discussion of this resolution and the debate surrounding charter
schools. Much has been said today in praise of charter schools; praise
for the diverse ways charter schools use their flexibility to reach
students, praise for the innovation educators can demonstrate in these
schools.
There is no doubt that numerous charter schools across the Nation are
founded and run with the best of intentions and with hopes for the
success of their students, and I think it is necessary to pause and
acknowledge the risk that comes along with the flexibility and the
autonomy that charter schools are given.
In my hometown of Cleveland, a charter school which opened in 1999
was forced to shut down in 2005 after several years of fiscal
mismanagement. State audits had shown discrepancies for several years
before the eventual closure of the school. After its closure, parents
were left mid-school-year scrambling to find another school for their
children. Teachers who had diligently worked for several months were
left without pay and without recourse. Children were uprooted and
forced to start over again in a new school with new classmates and new
teachers.
The intention behind granting charter schools additional flexibility
is an admirable one. The use of creative and unique tools and methods
to teach students is refreshing in an era of standardized tests and
one-size-fits-all accountability measures, but that flexibility cannot
and should not extend so far that it places students' educations at
risk. Increased autonomy in schools should not equal teachers left
without jobs and pay, as it did in Cleveland.
The characteristics of charter schools lauded in this resolution
offer additional independence for educators, but they also offer
additional risks for children. In our quest to ensure that every child
in America receives a quality education and the opportunity to realize
their dreams, we must take heed of these risks. We must ensure that
every child is able to reach his or her highest potential and give
every child the opportunity to realize his or her dreams.
Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and in conclusion,
I just want to again thank the gentleman from Nevada for his leadership
in support of this resolution. I am glad that the Congress has taken a
moment this morning to recognize the important role that charter
schools have throughout the entire country. We have heard some of the
success stories of those that are working well. It has enabled the
leaders of the education community, the leadership of these schools,
the teachers, administrators, parents and other involved community
members to think creatively and innovatively to enhance the educational
opportunities of our kids in a less restrictive environment with
greater flexibility but with the important accountability that we heard
a lot about here today.
Again, I would encourage my colleagues to adopt this resolution and
look forward to working with my colleagues on the Education and
Workforce Committee in doing things to improve the charter school
movement throughout the country.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I would just like to conclude by saying there certainly
have been challenges with some charter schools across the country,
schools that possibly were underfunded, possibly weren't organized
properly. But the advantage of a charter school is that if it does not
succeed, they lose their charter, and immediately, as a public school
should, a traditional public school system, there is a fail-safe
security system in place. So there is no doubt there have been examples
where the charters have not been a success, as there have been in other
schools, traditional public schools, traditional high schools,
traditional grade schools, that have not succeeded. Again, there are
numerous, numerous stories of success, but those areas that have not
performed properly have lost their charters. I think it is important to
note that is one of the advantages with the charter system.
Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of H. Res.
781, a resolution to recognize and congratulate charter schools and
their students, parents, teachers, and administrators across the United
States for their ongoing contributions to education.
The first known charter school opened in 1991, and in 1995 we had our
first charter school in Delaware. Of the nearly 1.1 million children
attending charter schools across the country, over 5,000 students
attend one of our 13 charter schools in Delaware.
It is clear that everyone in this country is interested in closing
what we know as the achievement gap that currently exists in our
schools. There is not one solution to this problem. I do believe that
one avenue is to encourage innovation, which is something that our
charter schools embrace. A recent Delaware study found, for the second
year in a row, that Delaware's charter schools are exceeding
achievement levels, with the most dramatic results in grade 10.
The nature of charter schools--nonsectarian public schools of choice
that operate with freedom from many of the regulations that apply to
traditional public schools--has enabled many schools in the Gulf Coast
to reopen. The ``charter'' establishing each school is a performance
contract detailing the school's mission, program, goals, students
served, methods of assessment, and ways to measure success. I was able
to see firsthand how important it is for these schools to reopen, and
commend those schools for taking advantage of the charter avenue.
With this week being national charter schools week, it is therefore
fitting that we recognize charter schools as another way to improve
student achievement and increase parental involvement and satisfaction.
Mr. CASE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 781, which
congratulates and commends charter schools and their students, parents,
teachers, and administrators across the United States for their ongoing
contributions to education and the public school system.
Charter schools have been and continue to be a modern-day public
education story filled with successes and accomplishments. These
schools contain the key ingredient in successful schools: active
participation not only from teachers and students, but of the entire
community. When the whole community--from parents, to businesses and
community organizations, to entire neighborhoods--has a critical role
in contributing to their local schools, the outcomes are tremendous.
These schools have consistently enabled students to achieve
academically and contribute positively to their communities.
[[Page H1992]]
In my state of Hawai`i, charter schools have been an exciting
development in public education in decades. With more and more charter
schools emerging each year, currently 27, they have managed to succeed
despite institutional opposition in bringing their brand of education
in the communities.
These growing pains and other obstacles make this national
recognition even more deserved. But for these very reasons, charter
schools also deserve their fair share of resources from federal and
state governments.
A specific source of great pride within the Hawai`i charter school
community is the development of Native Hawaiian charter schools. Na Lei
Na`auao, the Hawaiian Charter School Alliance, serves over 1,500 Native
Hawaiian public school students. The Alliance, whose focus is
``Education with Aloha'' seeks to enable Native Hawaiian students to
achieve educational success with culturally-driven methods.
The Native Hawaiian charter schools and Hawai`i's other charter
schools, both existing and future, need a federal government to be
clear and unequivocal in its continued support for the concept of
charter schools. They also need full parity in funding between
traditional public schools and charter schools.
H. Res. 781 is welcome and needed, but these great words must now be
partnered with action. I look forward to working with my colleagues and
other charter schools believers toward this realization of the dream.
Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, I yield
back the balance of my time and encourage support for this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Boozman). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Porter) that the House
suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 781.
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. KIND. 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 question will
be postponed.
____________________