[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 10 (Monday, March 15, 1999)]
[Page 399]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on the Kennedy-Murray Amendment to Proposed Education 
Flexibility Partnership Legislation

March 10, 1999

    I am pleased that the Senate leadership has finally agreed to allow 
an up-or-down vote on an amendment to hire 100,000 teachers to reduce 
class size in the early grades. Last year, with bipartisan support, 
Congress enacted a downpayment on this class size initiative, and school 
districts across the country will soon receive funds to begin hiring 
teachers. It is now time for Congress to finish the job by making a 
long-term commitment to class size reduction. I call on every Senator to 
vote for the Murray-Kennedy amendment to bring every class in the early 
grades down to a national average of 18.
    I will vigorously oppose any Republican amendments to undermine the 
bipartisan agreement we reached last year on class size by diverting 
those funds to other uses, including special education. While we should 
increase funding for special education--as we have done in past years 
and as my budget recommends continuing to do in the future--we should 
not take this money from the recently enacted class size initiative. We 
should not pit our children against one another or change the rules now 
on our critical efforts to reduce class size. Smaller classes will help 
all students do better and will reduce the need for special education 
services by helping teachers identify and assist as early as possible 
children who have learning problems. I call on every Member of Congress 
to reject these efforts to tear down what we accomplished last year, and 
call on them instead to build on that significant bipartisan 
achievement.