[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 177 (Tuesday, December 8, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8504-S8505]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      EVERY STUDENT SUCCEEDS BILL

  Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I rise in support of the Every Student 
Succeeds Act--the bill to reauthorization the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act.
  We have only one goal in mind: to give all our children the best 
possible education. The challenge has been to figure out the right role 
for the Federal Government to do that.
  This bill, which will replace No Child Left Behind, moves away from 
rigid standardized tests and respects the vital work our teachers do 
every day. I strongly support those changes. However, I voted against 
this bill when it was first approved by the Senate a few months ago 
because I felt it lacked even the minimum safeguards necessary to 
ensure that States would use Federal funds effectively to support 
teachers and students. I was deeply concerned that without stronger 
accountability, billions of dollars in taxpayer money would not 
actually reach those schools and those students who needed them the 
most.
  Unlike the bill initially approved by the Senate, the proposal before 
us has significantly enhanced those safeguards. I argued that it was 
essential that billions of dollars a year of Federal funding must be 
accompanied by some minimum expectations for what States are going to 
do with that money. One of those expectations must be that States 
target their efforts toward schools that are most in need of 
improvement and resources.
  That is why I am glad this final bill includes an amendment I offered 
with Senator Cory Booker to ensure that States address the 1,200 high 
schools in the United States, where fewer than two-thirds of students 
graduate every year.
  When one-third of a high school's students don't graduate, we know we 
have a crisis on our hands. We can't just turn our backs. This 
provision will ensure that States can't ignore those kids, and it will 
ensure additional Federal resources for those schools that clearly need 
it the most.
  This commonsense accountability provision had deep support across the 
board. It was supported by the Obama administration, the civil rights 
community, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the NEA. It wasn't in the 
bill I voted against a few months ago, but I am glad to see it in the 
final bill before us today because helping schools with chronic dropout 
rates cannot be optional.
  This bill also ensures that States cannot ignore any group of 
students who are consistently falling behind their peers. Let's face 
it. Historically, States haven't always stood up for their most 
vulnerable kids, and this bill makes certain that those kids will not 
be ignored again. That is why we have a Federal education law in the 
first place: to ensure that when the Federal Government gives States 
money to buy a good education for kids, that States have to use that 
money to support all of our kids--especially kids who need those 
resources the most. Senator Murphy and I offered amendments to achieve 
this goal when the bill came before the Senate. They weren't included 
back then, but I am glad to see that the final bill ensures that if 
States want Federal dollars, they cannot turn their backs on vulnerable 
students.
  This has been a very challenging process, but Senator Murray and 
Senator Alexander kept the door open for improvement, and I am grateful 
for that. Many allies stood together to ensure that Federal dollars 
would actually be used to improve both schools and educational 
opportunities for children living in poverty, children of color, 
children with disabilities, and other groups of kids who have been 
underserved, mistreated or systematically denied even the most basic 
opportunities to get a good education.
  One final note. States and communities cannot address persistent 
achievement gaps if they don't have good data. With this bill, parents, 
researchers, and educators across the country will, for the first time, 
be able to analyze the performance of African-American boys or Hispanic 
girls or low-income children with disabilities. The ability to analyze 
the interaction of race and gender or disabilities and income will help 
us better understand how our schools are serving students and identify 
student groups who need more help. I am very grateful to my cosponsor, 
Senator Cory Gardner, the Presiding Officer this afternoon, in helping 
make sure this final bill includes this bipartisan data transparency 
amendment that we offered to achieve this goal.
  When President Johnson first signed ESEA back in 1965, it was a 
landmark civil rights law. At the time, he said:

       I know that education is the only valid passport from 
     poverty--the only valid passport. . . . I believe deeply no 
     law I have signed or will ever sign means more to the future 
     of America.

  Today, the majority of our children in public school live in 
poverty--the majority. Think about that. This law is more important 
today than it has ever been. I am voting for this bill because I 
believe we have been successful in ensuring that it contains a minimum 
set

[[Page S8505]]

of safeguards to protect our most vulnerable kids. I still have real 
concerns about what States will do with the new flexibility it 
provides, and many of us here will be watching closely to see if the 
States deliver for our kids.
  I am committed to keep fighting for our Nation's public schools, and 
that includes fighting for more Federal investment. I hope this 
legislation truly lives up to the promises made half a century ago to 
support public education fully and fairly enough to create real 
opportunities for all of our children.
  If the changes in this law don't move us closer to providing a world-
class education for every single one of our children, then we will be 
right back here to fix it. We owe it to our students, we owe it to our 
teachers, we owe it to our history, and we owe it to our future to get 
this right.
  Thank you, Mr. President.
  I yield the floor.

                          ____________________