[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18180]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        AMERICAN EDUCATION WEEK

  (Mr. HONDA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. HONDA. Mr. Speaker, this week is American Education Week.
  Today I rise to choose my bill, the Equity and Excellence in American 
Education Act, which will move us towards a more equitable education 
funding system. We can wait no longer to act, knowing we are not 
providing each and every child with a quality education.
  My legislation is a starting point to establish equity as a 
foundational principle of our education system, especially in funding. 
Each and every child deserves to have an enriched education based on 
equity. Equity acknowledges all children are different with different 
needs. Equity means supporting families and students at the beginning 
with quality preschool and K-5 educational strategies based on equity.
  Rather than saying, ``What can we do with the funding we 
traditionally receive?'', we instead start with the question, ``How 
much do we need to meet the needs of each and every child?'' and build 
a system which reflects that funding. This will be a challenge, but one 
we must take on.

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