[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 104 (Friday, July 19, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1097-E1098]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          STUDENT SUCCESS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 18, 2013

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5) to 
     support State and local accountability for public education, 
     protect State and local authority, inform parents of the 
     performance of their children's schools, and for other 
     purposes:

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the legislation on 
the Floor today, a missed opportunity to reform our education system 
and ensure that every student has access to a high quality education.
  We should be working in a bipartisan manner to correct the widely-
acknowledged flaws of No Child Left Behind and make the law more fair, 
flexible, and responsive to the needs of students. Instead, the bill 
before us shortchanges our schools and eliminates supports for our most 
vulnerable populations.
  We should be providing the resources our schools need to fix the 
achievement gap and put a good, supported teacher in every classroom. 
Instead, today's bill locks in post-sequestration funding levels for K-
12 education and cuts back on professional development.
  We should be setting high expectations for our schools and giving 
States flexibility to create accountability systems that improve 
achievement for every student. Instead, this legislation eliminates 
requirements for districts to fix struggling schools and ensure that 
all students make it to graduation.

[[Page E1098]]

  We should be providing additional support for students with 
additional challenges--students with disabilities, English-language 
learners, and at-risk youth. Instead, we have a bill that allows funds 
to be directed away from these students and allows all students with 
disabilities to be taught at a lower standard.
  We should be encouraging innovation in the classroom, empowering 
teachers and allowing charter schools to test new ideas. But while this 
bill would expand charter school availability, it does not require 
those schools to be accountable or transparent with taxpayer dollars.
  Mr. Chair there are many missed opportunities in this bill. It 
continues the exclusive focus on math and reading, with no support for 
STEM, geography, history, the arts, or other subjects that provide a 
well-rounded education. It eliminates funding for afterschool programs 
and wraparound services that ensure students are prepared to learn.
  Our students, teachers, and parents deserve better than this bill. We 
should come together in a bipartisan fashion, as we have always done 
with education in the past, to develop real reform that gives our 
students the skills they need to succeed in our 21st century global 
economy.

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