[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.
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