    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
    [March 6, 1999]
    [Pages 321-322]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    March 6, 1999

        Good morning. This week we learned the good news that our efforts to
    raise academic standards for our children are beginning to pay off. The
    National Assessment of Education Progress, or NAEP, released State test
    scores on Thursday that show that our children's

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    reading scores have risen, with some of the greatest gains in States
    that once scored below the national average.
        Today I want to talk to you about what I think we must do to build
    on our progress, by putting more teachers in the classroom and reducing
    class size in schools around our country.
        We all agree that to build a stronger nation we must build up our
    Nation's public schools. I have proposed a comprehensive education
    agenda to strengthen and improve our schools with more accountability,
    higher standards, more volunteer reading tutors for young children, and
    mentors for teenagers, with Internet connections in every classroom, and
    with more well-trained teachers in smaller classes.
        As any parent, teacher, or school principal can tell you, smaller
    classes make a huge difference in our children's lives. Studies show
    that teachers in smaller classes spend less time on discipline and more
    time teaching. Students spend less time competing for attention and more
    time learning. Students in smaller classes outperform their peers.
        For children in struggling communities, from remote rural areas to
    inner-city neighborhoods, small class size is even more critical. And
    with school enrollments at record highs and expected to keep rising, we
    must act now to reduce class size in all our Nation's public schools.
        Across the country, more and more communities are recognizing the
    importance of smaller class size and trying to do something about it. To
    help them meet this challenge, I called on Congress early last year to
    pass my initiative to reduce class size by helping school districts hire
    100,000 highly trained teachers. I'm pleased that Republican Members of
    Congress joined with Democrats and did the right thing in making a big
    downpayment toward meeting our goal.
        Today the Department of Education is releasing guidelines that will
    let every school district in our Nation know how much money they will
    receive and how best to use the funds to reduce class size in time for
    school this fall. But communities deciding now whether to hire and train
    new teachers for next year need to know whether they can count on the
    commitment Congress made last year to help them reduce class size for
    years to come. It is time to finish the job.
        Now, this week the Senate and House will vote on a bill that gives
    States the flexibility they need to improve their public schools in
    spending Federal aid they receive. I support this bill. But I also
    strongly support efforts by Senators Murray and
    Kennedy and Representatives Clay and Wu to add an
    amendment to it that will fully fund 100,000 well-trained teachers over
    the next 6 years.
        Unfortunately, Republican leaders are trying to shut down debate on
    the ed-flex bill before this important amendment on more teachers and
    smaller classes can even be voted on. Now, last October, just before the
    election, Republicans joined us in promising the American people more
    teachers and smaller classes. Less than 5 months later, we now have the
    first big test of whether this Congress is really willing to work
    together across party lines and with the White House to get things done
    for the American people, whether the Congress is serious about giving
    our children the education they need and deserve.
        The choice is simple: Are we going to give Americans smaller classes
    or more partisanship? Are we going to put politics ahead of progress or
    put 100,000 teachers in our Nation's classrooms? I call on the Senate to
    allow an up-or-down vote on the Murray-Kennedy class size amendment, and
    I urge every Senator to vote for it. When it comes to our children's
    future, politics must stop at the schoolhouse door.
        Thanks for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 4:08 p.m. on March 5 in the Oval
    Office at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on March 6. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    March 5 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast.