[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12744-12745]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  MIAMI-DADE COUNTY SCHOOL DISCIPLINE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Poe of Texas). The Chair recognizes the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Curbelo) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CURBELO of Florida. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize 
leaders of Miami-Dade County Public Schools for attending a recent 
meeting at the White House to discuss school discipline.
  The purpose of the discussion was to determine alternatives to common 
school disciplinary measures to keep students focused on learning.
  Exclusionary discipline has become far too common, often exacerbating 
the problems for students who struggle in school. This leads kids down 
a path where they fall behind other students and sometimes end up in 
the juvenile justice system.
  A change in school discipline procedures is long overdue. Rather than 
promoting an atmosphere of compounding punishments, we need to help our 
students get back on a positive track and help them succeed while also 
maintaining the safety of their classmates and teachers.
  Prior to being elected to Congress, I served for 4 years as a board 
member of Miami-Dade County Public Schools. I have seen firsthand the 
bold efforts to reform disciplinary tactics and reverse the trend that 
plagues so many school districts.
  For example, Miami-Dade has created sites across the county for 
suspended children to attend rather than forcing them to waste their 
time out of school.
  I applaud the board, led by Chair Perla Tabares Hantman, and 
Superintendent Alberto Carvalho for their leadership on this issue and 
their willingness to participate in this important discussion.
  I look forward to working with them to promote proper and safe school 
discipline that benefits the students, their parents, and their 
teachers.


                             STEM Education

  Mr. CURBELO of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss the 
importance of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics 
education and also recognize the great work being done in the 26th 
District of Florida to encourage these classes.

                              {time}  1215

  It is no secret that jobs that require a STEM-related background are 
projected to outpace other fields as many

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companies struggle to hire qualified candidates. We need to encourage 
our students to pursue these fields early on in school and ensure that 
our educators have the necessary tools to help cultivate an interest in 
STEM classes for our students.
  In an effort to reach the goal of graduating more STEM students, 
Miami-Dade County has launched an innovative new training and 
certification program for teachers in collaboration with Florida 
International University.
  FIU has developed a program that promotes STEM teacher training for 
first-year college students, where they are paired with Miami-Dade 
County public school teachers to give them firsthand experience in the 
classroom. The goal is to encourage more STEM majors to go into 
teaching.
  I applaud the work being done in Florida's 26th District and look 
forward to further promoting STEM education in south Florida's 
classroom.
  Congratulations, again, to FIU and to Miami-Dade County public 
schools.


                       Startup Day Across America

  Mr. CURBELO of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Wednesday, 
August 19, as Startup Day all across America, and I encourage everyone 
to visit at least one small business in your community on this day.
  Startups are quickly developing right before our eyes. Throughout our 
country, there are countless small businesses that range from retail to 
health care, and these companies are changing the workforce as we know 
it. Entrepreneurs are leading the way to a brighter future by using 
innovative solutions and reinventing the way we look at small 
businesses.
  Our local businesses employ our friends and neighbors, helping them 
to pay their bills and provide a better life for themselves and their 
families. As a member of the Small Business Committee, I recommend that 
we never forget the vital role that our local businesses play in 
keeping our neighborhoods strong and prosperous.
  Again, I encourage everyone to participate in Startup Day across 
America on Wednesday, August 19, and help these small businesses 
continue to grow.


                 225th Birthday of the U.S. Coast Guard

  Mr. CURBELO of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate August 4 as 
the 225th birthday of the United States Coast Guard.
  The Coast Guard is one of our Nation's five branches of the armed 
services and can trace its origins back to August 4, 1790, when the 
first U.S. Congress appropriated the funds to construct 10 vessels. 
These ships were designated with enforcing tariff and trade laws, while 
also preventing smuggling and protecting the collection of Federal 
revenue.
  Mr. Speaker, I am particularly proud to represent Coast Guard Sector 
Key West, a base located in south Florida that covers 55,000 square 
miles. The coasties stationed at Sector Key West are tasked with the 
same responsibilities as their predecessors and also have the crucial 
job of combating drug smuggling from the Caribbean and South America. 
This is no easy task, but I am proud of the work the Coast Guard 
continues to do to stifle drugs from entering our communities.
  Semper Paratus--Always Ready--this is the motto of our beloved Coast 
Guard, and our Nation owes a sincere debt of gratitude to the coasties 
and all those who protect our great country.

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