[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 1979]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



   INTRODUCTION OF CHARACTER LEARNING AND STUDENT SUCCESS (CLASS) ACT

  (Mr. SMITH of Texas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Madam Speaker, Americans are concerned about the 
decline in our Nation's values, particularly among our children. 
Parents should be the primary developers of character, but educators 
play an increasingly important role. Many school districts have 
included character education in their curriculum. Others have not but 
would like to do so. Schools need an organization that exists to help 
them identify their particular needs and implement effective character 
education programs.
  The gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Clement) and I are introducing the 
Character Learning and Student Success Act. This legislation provides a 
grant to develop initiatives and disseminate up-to-date resource 
information about character education. It also funds a study that will 
examine whether or not character education programs are effective and 
sustainable.
  Madam Speaker, character education not only cultivates minds, it 
nurtures hearts. I ask my colleagues to please join us in cosponsoring 
this bill.

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