[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Page 840]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      NATIONAL SCHOOL CHOICE WEEK

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 351, submitted earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 351) designating the week of January 
     24 through January 30, 2016, as ``National School Choice 
     Week.''

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. President, this week is an opportunity to highlight 
the importance of parental choice in education, and the success that 
children find when they are able to choose an educational pathway that 
suits their individual needs. Be it through public, charter, private, 
or home schools, as well as other forms of educational services that 
may be tailored to the educational needs of our kids, we should 
continue our work to provide students with a viable and proven route to 
a better education.
  In particular, I want to recognize my home State of South Carolina 
for our continuous work in expanding school choice initiatives. Since 
2013, when South Carolina's general assembly enacted the Educational 
Credit for Exceptional Needs Children, which helps children with 
disabilities gain an education personalized to their own unique needs, 
South Carolina has been on the forefront of the school choice movement. 
That is clearly on display this week, as South Carolina's National 
School Choice Rally will feature its largest rates of participation 
yet, with over 3,000 parents, advocates, and students lending their 
voice and support to school choice.
  On the Federal level, I have submitted legislation to free up access 
to educational resources for America's least fortunate students. I have 
sponsored legislation that would make IDEA funds portable and create a 
school choice pilot program for military families, as well as 
bipartisan legislation with Senators Feinstein, Johnson, and Booker to 
reauthorize and improve the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, the 
Nation's only federally supported school choice program.
  I believe we must continue this work to promote parental choice. 
Reforms to our educational system should empower parents and students, 
not bureaucrats, to choose the educational option that best meets their 
unique needs. Because when parents have better choices, their kids have 
a better chance.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to 
reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no 
intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 351) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  (The resolution, with its preamble, is printed in today's Record 
under ``Submitted Resolutions.'')

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