[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 156 (Tuesday, September 26, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H4471]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                STATE OF EDUCATION IN THE VIRGIN ISLANDS

  (Ms. PLASKETT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, as we in Washington argue over the budget 
and the depletion of FEMA funds for rebuilding, children in the Virgin 
Islands are suffering from excessive heat in classrooms that has 
affected the academic calendar year of students in the territory. 
Excessive heat has literally contributed to substantial interruption of 
the learning at a critical part of the school year.
  Students have been so deeply affected by these issues that they have 
taken to the streets on the island of St. Croix to protest what they 
believe to be the current administration's lack of maintenance of the 
school. Our students have embraced the spirit of protest that runs so 
strongly in the heritage of Virgin Islanders as a means of challenging 
the establishment.
  A week ago, St. Croix teachers, led by a local arm of the AFT, 
executed a job action and staged a strike to call attention to a myriad 
of issues that continue to plague the schools in the territory--lack of 
AC units or fans amidst a heat wave, much-needed electrical upgrades, 
limited supplies, et cetera. The students themselves joined the 
teachers, and I am incredibly proud of the youth.
  We need to put pressure on FEMA. We need to work collaboratively 
together to get these schools in the order they need to be for the 
children. Virgin Islanders must come together for our children.

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