[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16282-16283]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1845
                        INEQUITIES IN EDUCATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen) is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, today we members of the Congressional 
Black Caucus, under the leadership of our chairwoman, Carolyn Cheeks 
Kilpatrick, are taking time to commemorate Juneteenth and reflect on 
this historical event in 1865 when the news of their emancipation was 
finally received by 250,000 enslaved in Texas, 2 years late. And as we 
do so, it seems appropriate that we reflect on the inequities that 
continue to plague the African American community, the remedies for 
which are also too late.
  And so, as we take the floor of the seat of government in our 
country, we say the time is now. Again, better later than never for 
this 110th Congress to bring another message of freedom to African 
Americans, freedom from economic blight, from lack of access to quality 
and comprehensive health care, from substandard housing, and from the 
issue that is the subject of our discussion tonight: rundown, poorly 
equipped, and understaffed schools and the overall inequities in our 
Nation's educational system.
  June also marks the celebration of graduation season across the 
Nation. And as we cheer millions of high school graduates, we must not 
forget the 1.2 million students who left school this year without a 
high school diploma.
  Dropouts are twice as likely to be unemployed. Even those who work, 
for those who work the pay is low. Opportunity for advancement is 
limited, and health insurance is essentially unavailable.
  This is a particular problem in communities of color. For African 
Americans and Latinos, the dropout rate approaches an astonishing and 
alarming 50 percent and affects all communities, large or small, rural 
or urban, including our territories. This high rate of high school 
dropout and the consequent unemployment disproportionately affect 
African American males. According to the last U.S. Census, the fraction 
of black men with a high school education or less is about 50 percent, 
nearly half of the black male population.
  A report published by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation last 
year indicated that the employment for what they call less educated 
black men has been in decline during the last decade, and this, despite 
the fact that opportunities exist to reverse this because of 
discrimination in hiring.
  The racial difference in the labor force participation rates are 
sharpest for those without a high school degree. Only half of prime-age 
black men without a high school degree are in the labor force.
  Mr. Speaker, education is everyone's issue. However, the current 
administration seems to have an opposing view as they propose to 
completely cut funding for the Dropout Prevention Program. The Youth 
Activities Program, under their fiscal year 2008 budget proposal, would 
lose $100 million of funding compared to 2006, and Safe and Drug-Free 
Schools and Communities grant program would almost be cut by $150 
million. This funding needs to be restored. These programs are part of 
the solution to the dropout problem.
  So we in the Congressional Black Caucus are issuing a call to action 
across our Nation to reduce the dropout rate and raise the graduation 
rate above its current level of 70 percent. Keeping our people in 
improved schools must be a part of the debate and be addressed as we 
move to reauthorize and fund an amended and improved No Child Left 
Behind.
  Today the Campaign for High School Equity met on the Hill to address 
and help us address this very issue. Among the reasons cited as causes 
of the persistent dropout rates are lack of parental involvement and 
one I heard in focus groups of young men in my own district: poorly 
devised and presented

[[Page 16283]]

curricula that don't keep or stimulate our students' interests.
  We urge the appropriators to include incentives to address this 
issue, to improve graduation rates and to ensure an increase in funding 
for key programs like Upward Bound in the 2008 appropriation. This 
program also helps to reverse our Nation's dropout rate.
  Another factor that is indirectly related is one that was the subject 
of Bob Herbert's column last Saturday, lack of employment for teens 
during the high school year and in the summer. We are at the lowest 
national teen employment rate in the past 60 years at 33.1 percent, 
according to one study from Northeastern University. Again, this bleak 
outlook is primarily affecting Black teens.
  As Mr. Herbert said: ``This is the flip side of the American dream. 
Kids who grow up poor and never work at a regular job tend not to think 
in terms of post-graduate degrees, marriages, careers, and the cost of 
educating the next generation. A steady job could make all the 
difference. Along with the paycheck comes a sense of the possibilities. 
Kids develop a clearer understanding of the value of education and are 
more likely to stay in school.''
  No Child Left Behind created widespread pressure to improve academic 
achievement. While many districts have struggled to meet benchmarks set 
by this legislation, far too many of our children, especially African 
American children, are still being left behind.
  We need to apply the same pressure, focus, and funding to improve the 
educational environment and experience and to provide the tools that 
are needed for education success in all of our schools.
  The enslaved Africans in Texas waited 2 years to finally hear the 
word that they were free. Let us not have our young children and people 
wait one minute longer for the education they need and the future they 
deserve.

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