[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 69 (Wednesday, May 6, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S5247]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     NATIONAL CHARTER SCHOOLS WEEK

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 134, which was 
introduced earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 134) congratulating the students, 
     parents, teachers, and administrators at charter schools 
     across the United States for their ongoing contributions to 
     education and supporting the ideas and goals of the 10th 
     annual National Charter Schools Week, May 3 through May 9, 
     2009.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I further ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or 
debate, and any statements related to the resolution be printed in the 
Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 134) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 134

       Whereas charter schools deliver high-quality education and 
     challenge all 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 respond to the needs of 
     communities, families, and students in the United States and 
     promote 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 approximately 4,700 charter schools are now 
     operating in 40 States and the District of Columbia, serving 
     more than 1,400,000 students;
       Whereas, during the last 14 years, Congress has provided 
     more than $2,478,288,000 in financial assistance to the 
     charter school movement through facilities financing 
     assistance and grants for planning, startup, implementation, 
     and dissemination;
       Whereas many charter schools improve the achievements of 
     students 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 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) in 
     the same manner as traditional public schools and often set 
     higher and additional individual goals to ensure that charter 
     schools are of high quality and truly accountable to the 
     public;
       Whereas charter schools give parents new freedom to choose 
     public schools, routinely measure parental satisfaction 
     levels, and must prove their ongoing success to parents, 
     policymakers, and their communities;
       Whereas more than 50 percent of charter schools report 
     having a waiting list, and the total number of students on 
     all such waiting lists is enough to fill more than 1,100 
     average-sized charter schools;
       Whereas the President has called for increased Federal 
     support for replicating and expanding high-performing charter 
     schools to meet the dramatic demand created by the more than 
     365,000 children on charter school waiting lists; and
       Whereas the 10th annual National Charter Schools Week is 
     May 3 through May 9, 2009: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) congratulates the students, parents, teachers, and 
     administrators of charter schools across the United States 
     for their ongoing contributions to education, especially 
     their impressive results in closing the persistent 
     achievement gap in the United States, and improving and 
     strengthening the public school system in the United States;
       (2) supports the ideas and goals of the 10th annual 
     National Charter Schools Week, a week-long celebration to be 
     held May 3 through May 9, 2009, in communities throughout the 
     United States; and
       (3) encourages the people of the United States to conduct 
     appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities during 
     National Charter Schools Week to demonstrate support for 
     charter schools.

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