[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 6007-6008]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                     EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES ACT

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, we are, of course, poised this week to 
take on one of the most important issues we will face during this year. 
That is the issue of education.
  As we talk about issues over the country and as we take polls, 
education is the first issue the American people are interested in, and 
very understandably so. Certainly there is nothing more important to us 
than education. I think nothing is more important than the future of 
our country with respect to the training of our children who obviously 
will be the leaders of the country. I am looking forward to that. I 
think certainly there are many things that can be done and that 
Congress can do.
  Clearly, in my view, the principal responsibility for public 
education lies with the States, with the communities, and the decisions 
that are made with respect to the schools ought to be made primarily 
based on the needs of those schools as defined by the local leadership.
  The role of the Federal Government then is one that is always debated 
in the Senate, and properly so. It is one on which there are different 
views as to what the role of the Federal Government is and should be. 
The amount of financial contribution made to the elementary and 
secondary schools is approximately 6 to 7 percent of the total cost. It 
is relatively small, but it is very important. Often it is oriented 
specifically to special education--to a particular need, and so on. 
That is good. We will, hopefully, have a bill before us that will 
provide for some commonsense education and a reform plan that will help 
all children attain their potential so they can be successful.
  In increasing the accountability for student performance, money is 
obviously the key factor. Money alone, however, is not enough. Money 
just doesn't do it unless there is some other accountability there so 
we can measure performance. We need to support the programs that work 
and take a look at those that do not work. Obviously, there are some of 
each.
  I think we need to reduce the bureaucracy so that officials in 
Washington are not deciding what we ought to do in Sundance, WY, or 
Philadelphia. The people in other parts of the country ought to have 
the opportunity.
  We need to empower parents to be able to make decisions with respect 
to their own children's future. Part of what we will be talking about 
in consideration of the bill will be to hold schools accountable with 
annual reading and math assessments and annual testing that gives 
parents the information they need to be able to determine whether or 
not their children are learning.
  Testing is somewhat controversial, particularly national testing. I 
hope we can give the States as much flexibility as possible as to how 
they do that. On the other hand, with the kind of movement we have 
among children as they get out of school and go to other places, we 
need to ensure that as they are trained in Colorado, they are prepared 
to work in California; that their educational background will give them 
the ability to do that.
  Testing gives educators the information they need to know what works, 
to see what is working in classroom and to improve skills and improve 
teaching effectively. That is part of what we will be doing. Federal 
dollars should not follow failure. We need to ensure that the programs 
that are funded by Federal dollars are programs that are useful and 
programs that are producing results. I think we need to make sure we 
support the programs that are effective and that are research-based 
programs. Schools need to be held accountable, of course. School boards 
need to do a lot of that. Parents need to do a great deal of that.
  We need flexibility, of course, As I mentioned, school districts are 
quite different. They need to know that school districts are different. 
It is really not appropriate to send dollars, saying they have to be 
used to reduce the size of the class when in fact the size of the class 
is not the issue; computers are the issue or the building is the issue 
or teacher training is the issue. We need to do that.
  Parents need to be empowered, of course, to be able to determine the 
quality of education the children are receiving so they can make some 
decisions. I think there has to be clear accountability. In many cases, 
I think the idea that you can have some choice among public schools is 
the way parents can have some accountability as well. In my hometown of 
Casper, WY, we have a number of charter schools--schools that are 
different from public schools--so that children have a chance to go to 
different places and do different things.
  We will be talking about the Educational Opportunities Act. We will 
try to respond to the declining student performance we all hear about 
in our public schools. We need to change what is going on if our 
purpose is to have higher performance. The Educational Opportunities 
Act is designed to support learning efforts in all 50 States and 
helping local leaders determine what those programs need to have.
  Also, we will be talking about how to help disadvantaged children 
meet the high standards and providing schools and teachers with greater 
decisionmaking authority to make the changes that will result in better 
performance and schools more responsive to the needs. For any school 
that fails to help its students over a period of time and make adequate 
progress, perhaps there can be an opportunity either for that school to 
be restructured or, indeed, in many instances for the parents to have 
an opportunity to send their kids to other public schools.
  I don't think in the beginning that the proposal will have the 
voucher aspect of it, even though that is very controversial. But we 
can have the charter idea, and we can have the notion that people can 
choose.
  There is nothing more important in education than the teacher. Give 
them a better opportunity for training. Alternative certification may 
be helpful to continuing learning opportunities. Teacher empowerment 
will be one of the programs.
  We will have enrichment initiatives where there can be different 
programs designed for the 21st century learning centers, where you can 
have special kinds of schools and special kinds of programs happening 
for kids. There is also the gifted and talented program, the advanced 
placement program, and help for neglected, delinquent, and at-risk 
students. There are all kinds of programs that are necessary.
  Obviously, safe and drug-free schools is something we want. We used 
to think about the problem of talking out loud or chewing gum in 
schools, and so on, as problems in school. Now problems are much more 
serious than that. There are drug problems, shooting problems, and 
other kinds of safety problems. So we are going to address that issue.
  There is a title on educational opportunity initiatives where we can 
help children with the establishment of charter schools. More of that 
will be done. It is pretty much a local initiative.
  We can help students across the digital divide so they are computer 
literate in the eighth grade and ready to do the things that now need 
to be done to be successful in the private sector.
  There is bilingual education and educational enhancement. I think 
there needs to be some focus on students who speak limited English so 
that they have a better chance to succeed when they go out into the 
world. Obviously, the students will want to maintain their own choice 
of language, and that is great. But if they are going to be

[[Page 6008]]

successful in this country, they have to be competent in English. I 
think that is something that can be done.
  There is also impact aid. Of course, we have schools that are 
different, schools that are in communities that are largely Federal. 
For example, they do not have the same kind of tax structure and 
opportunities that others do. We have schools on Indian reservations 
and schools for Native Alaskans, and so on, that need special care. In 
Wyoming, we have reservations that need special attention. We can 
provide that special attention.
  So these are the issues that will be involved in the educational bill 
that is upcoming. There is great concern over the amount of money that 
will be put in education. The Republican bill has more money in the 
budget than the President has asked. There will still be arguments made 
about needing more money.
  Of course, one of the issues is that when there is a ``surplus,'' 
there is never enough spending to suit some people. Others think there 
ought to be a limitation on the role of the Federal Government. I 
happen to agree with that in terms of its involvement in elementary and 
secondary education.
  So I think we will have a spirited debate. It is interesting, though. 
Everyone in the debate, I believe, would agree that we have a real 
responsibility and are determined to help strengthen the educational 
system in this country. The question will be, how do we do it? How do 
we best do it? What are the areas in which we can have the most impact?
  I have to confess, frankly--and I know there is testing, and so on--I 
am pretty proud of the system that we have and the young people with 
whom I have occasion to deal. Frankly, my wife is a special ed teacher, 
so I have a little insight into that. As I tour around our State, I am 
pretty darn proud of the young people in my State. I think they do a 
great job. Quite frankly, many of them are better prepared for life 
when they get out of school than I was or perhaps some of us were that 
are a little older.
  So are we where we should be? No, of course not. Are there areas that 
are particularly in need? I think so. And we are in one of those areas 
right now. The results in the District of Columbia are not up to the 
normal performance levels. There are many of those areas. So we need to 
work on that. But we also have lots of dedicated teachers who do a 
great job and lots of school districts that do a great job.
  So I am anxious for us to move on this matter of education. I think 
we will be on it today. Certainly we will be on it for some days. 
Indeed, we should be. As we deal with this question--or any question, 
for that matter, but this one maybe even more than others--we need to 
set some goals for ourselves as to where we want to be in 10 years, 
where we want to be in 15 years, what we want our children to be able 
to do, what opportunities we want to be able to provide for them, so 
that as we deal with today's issues, and the issues that are in this 
bill and are before us--each one is a rather small step--that those 
steps are directed for the attainment of a goal with which we can all 
agree.
  It seems to me that is very important to having a successful 
discussion of an issue of this kind.
  We need to have defined what our values are, what our goals are, 
where we are headed, and what it is we want to have as a result of the 
efforts we have made.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the 
quorum call be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Enzi). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. DURBIN. I ask unanimous consent to be recognized in morning 
business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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