Student Success Act Falls Short

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in opposition to H.R. 5.

Education is a civil right. And when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was passed in 1965, its purpose was to ensure access to a quality education for our neediest students that are often low income and minority.

We can all agree that ESEA reauthorization is long overdue. However, the proposal put forth by Republicans falls short and makes a bad situation worse.

Each day that No Child Left Behind is law is one more day that we are, in fact, leaving children behind.

H.R. 5 is not the answer. Voting for this bill means voting against our students, our teachers, and our schools. A vote for H.R. 5 is a vote to take money from our poorest and most at-risk students. It is a vote to erase the educational gains we have made over the past 50 years. It is a vote to deny many of our students a chance at real success.

It is time to wake up. It is time to vote ``no'' on H.R. 5.

Congress passed ESEA 50 years ago with the intent of protecting our students by providing quality and equal education. Today, instead of putting forth a bipartisan bill that moves us closer to equal and quality education for every child, Republicans have introduced a bill to roll back the hands of time and undo our progress.

H.R. 5 turns its back on some of our most vulnerable student populations. It lacks the accountability measures to ensure student success.

A report from the Southern Education Foundation found that more than 50 percent of our public school students live in poverty. Title I has always been the main source of Federal funding for our country's poorest students.

H.R. 5 would reverse this longstanding practice and, instead, remove money from our school districts with the greatest need, diluting their ability to meaningfully fund programs that serve low-income students.

At a time when 40 percent of college students take remedial courses and employers continue to complain of inadequate preparation for high school graduates, we must ensure that all students are college ready and are career ready. H.R. 5 allows States to lower standards that lead to students graduating unprepared.

So how can we expect our students to compete in a global economy when they aren't prepared? We need to invest in the future of our children, support our teachers and our principals, ensure the success of our neediest students.

And that is why I am proud to support the amendment of the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), and I thank him for his leadership in challenging H.R. 5.

This amendment reaffirms the Federal Government's proper role in education, addressing many of the problems that surround No Child Left Behind.

Students in low-income families already have obvious disadvantages. This amendment prioritizes early education to help our students start out strong. It puts protections in place against bullying, and it supports the physical, mental, and emotional stability of students. It gets rid of AYP and also makes important investments in STEM education.

Education should be an issue that unites us, not divides us. The Scott amendment is exactly what our schools and our students and our teachers need.

I urge my colleagues to vote for the Scott amendment and not for H.R. 5 because H.R. 5 fails on all accounts. It fails our neediest students. It fails to invest in our teachers and principals. And it fails to prepare students for college and careers and to address the core principles of Federal education policies.

H.R. 5 deserves an F. I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing it.

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