[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 106 (Thursday, July 9, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1021]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          STUDENT SUCCESS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. YVETTE D. CLARKE

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 25, 2015

       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:

  Ms. CLARKE of New York. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to H.R. 5 The 
Student Success Act. I rise in opposition to this bill because 
education is a civil right. The Elementary and Secondary Schools Act, 
also known as ESEA, was initially passed in 1965 as part of President 
Johnson's ``War on Poverty.'' President Johnson understood that without 
a good education, economic stability was impossible and poverty 
inevitable.
  The goal of the original ESEA was to provide a fair and equitable 
education to every child in America. Unfortunately, H.R. 5 is neither 
fair nor equitable. This bill creates the warped concept of Title I 
Portability, which would shift resources from poor school districts 
such as the ones in my district of Brooklyn, New York to wealthier 
communities. Children in poor districts stand to lose upward of $85 per 
student, while children in wealthier communities would gain an average 
of $290 dollars per student.
  It ends the Safe and Drug Free Schools Program, among 70 other 
programs also slated for elimination. You would think that with the 
rise in school shootings and rampant school violence, that if we ever 
needed a Safe and Drug Free School Program it would be now.
  It also eliminates Title III, which helped to ensure that English 
Language Learners attain English proficiency. H.R. 5 not only 
figuratively, but also literally, silences the voices of our Hispanic 
students and in doing so relegates them to a life of inequity and 
poverty.
  Under H.R. 5, New York State is projected to receive $1.52 billion in 
2016 and $6.943 billion over the 2016-2021 period. This is $46 million 
less in 2016 and $606 million less over the 2016-2021 period than under 
the President Obama's budget. In fact, my district of Brooklyn, New 
York is in Kings County. Kings County, with a poverty rate of 33.3 
percent, will see a $39.9 million cut in Title I funding under this 
bill.
  Today, we Democrats are shining a light on H.R. 5 so that America can 
see how ugly, dangerous and divisive this bill really is. And just like 
during the civil rights movement, we won't back down! We won't give up! 
We will fight until every child in America--Black, Brown, Asian or 
White--has a fair, equitable, and quality public school education--
because Education is a Civil Right.

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