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October 19, 1999
House Education Initiatives
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ACTION SUMMARY
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives will begin consideration
of several initiatives affecting national education policy.
Calls are needed to House Members regarding action on these
measures.
- H. R. 2, The Student Results Act of 1999, refers
to Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
(ESEA), up for reauthorization this year. Vital gender
equity provisions previously included in Title I have
been dropped from this bill. Legislators should be
asked to support an amendment restoring gender equity
language.
- H.R. 2300, "The Academic Achievement for All" (Straight
A's) Act," to be debated immediately following consideration
of H.R. 2, transforms that legislation into an education
block grant to the states, undermining 35 years of effort
under the ESEA to ensure that Title I funds are targeted
specifically to help poor and disadvantaged students.
In addition, the measure potentially allows the use of
Title I dollars to fund voucher and voucher-like programs.
Legislators must be urged to oppose the Straight A's
Act.
- An amendment defeated in committee but expected to be
offered again from the House floor would convert Title
I into a "portable entitlement," allowing students
to take their Title I "allotment" with them to private
or religious schools. Legislators should be urged to
oppose portability or similar measures, which would have
the effect of creating federally funded voucher-like programs.
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Background:
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
is the primary federal vehicle for funding programs to support public
education. The bill, originally authorized in 1965 and re-authorized
every five years since, contains 11 titles or sections. Each title
covers a separate critical education initiative. This year, the
House Committee on Education and the Workforce chaired by Rep. William
Goodling (PA) decided to break the bill into sections and deal with
each initiative separately. Title I of the ESEA, being considered
for reauthorization this year as the "The Student Results Act of
1999," is the largest piece of the bill.
- Costing more than $8 billion, the legislation provides supplementary
reading and math instruction for economically disadvantaged children
and is designed to help these children meet high education standards.
- While working on the legislation, the House committee voted
to eliminate vital gender equity programs. These include: (1)
The Women's Educational Equity Act (WEEA), which helps combat
biased teaching practices by funding unbiased teaching materials,
programs and projects; (2) drop-out prevention programs designed
to help pregnant and parenting teens remain in school.
- Congresswomen Connie Morella (MD), Patsy Mink (HI) and Lynn
Woolsey (CA) will offer an amendment to H.R. 2 to restore gender
equity provisions.
Academic Achievement for All (HR 2300), known as the "Straight
A's" legislation, would allow governors and state legislatures to
spend the federal dollars provided by H.R. 2 for any educational
purpose permitted by state law.
- By thus transforming H.R. 2 into an education block grant,
legislators will have eliminated the federal accountability requirements
that have been part of Title I legislation since its inception.
This means there will be no federal ability to ensure that funds
are targeted to reach students in schools with high concentrations
of poverty, as originally intended, and no ability to impose accountability
requirements affecting measurements of program effectiveness and
student achievement.
- Moreover, if state laws are enacted to permit the use of vouchers,
Title I dollars could be diverted from public schools where 90
percent of America's school children are educated, to pay for
voucher programs for private or sectarian schools.
Action Needed
Contact your legislators and ask your leadership to do so as well.
Tell them to urge their Representatives to:
- support an amendment restoring gender equity provisions to
H.R. 2
- oppose the Academic Achievement for All (Straight A's) Act
- oppose portability or similar measures, which would have the
effect of creating federally funded voucher-like programs.
As always, if you have questions or need further
information, please contact Reva Price in the JCPA Washington Office
(202) 293-1649
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