III 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 514 

Congratulating the students, parents, teachers, and leaders of charter schools 

across the United States for making ongoing contributions to education, 

and supporting the ideals and goals of the 19th annual National Charter 

Schools Week, celebrated May 7 through May 11, 2018. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 16, 2018 

Mr. ALEXANDER (for himself, Mr. BENNET, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. WICKER, Mr. 

BURR, Mr. ISAKSON, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. SCOTT, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. TOOMEY, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. TILLIS, Mrs. HYDESMITH, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. PERDUE, Mr. CARPER, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. COONS, Mr. MCCAIN, and Mr. 

HATCH) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and 

agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Congratulating the students, parents, teachers, and leaders 

of charter schools across the United States for making 

ongoing contributions to education, and supporting the 

ideals and goals of the 19th annual National Charter 

Schools Week, celebrated May 7 through May 11, 2018. 

Whereas charter schools are public schools that do not charge 

tuition and enroll any student who wants to attend, often 

through a random lottery when the demand for enrollment is outmatched by the supply of available charter 

school seats; 


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•SRES 514 ATS 

Whereas high-performing public charter schools deliver a 

high-quality public education and challenge all students 

to reach the students’ potential for academic success; 

Whereas high-performing public charter schools promote innovation and excellence in public education; 

Whereas public charter schools throughout the United States 

provide millions of families with diverse and innovative 

educational options for children of the families; 

Whereas high-performing public charter schools and charter 

management organizations are increasing student 

achievement and attendance rates at institutions of higher education; 

Whereas public charter schools are authorized by a designated entity and— 

(1) respond to the needs of communities, families, 

and students in the United States; and 

(2) promote the principles of quality, accountability, 

choice, high-performance, and innovation; 

Whereas, in exchange for flexibility and autonomy, public 

charter schools are held accountable by the authorizers of 

the charter schools for improving student achievement 

and for sound financial and operational management; 

Whereas public charter schools are required to meet the student achievement accountability requirements under the 

Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) in the same manner as traditional 

public schools; 

Whereas public charter schools often set higher expectations 

for students, beyond the requirements of the Elementary 

and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 


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•SRES 514 ATS 

et seq.), to ensure that the charter schools are of high 

quality and truly accountable to the public; 

Whereas 44 States and the District of Columbia have enacted 

laws authorizing public charter schools; 

Whereas, as of the 2017–2018 school year, more than 7,000 

public charter schools served nearly 3,200,000 children; 

Whereas enrollment in public charter schools grew from 

400,000 students in 2001 to 3,200,000 students in 2018, 

an eightfold increase in 17 years; 

Whereas in the United States— 

(1) in 208 school districts, more than 10 percent of 

public school students are enrolled in public charter 

schools; and 

(2) in 19 school districts, at least 30 percent of public school students are enrolled in public charter schools; 

Whereas high-performing public charter schools improve the 

academic achievement of students enrolled in the charter 

schools and collaborate with traditional public schools to 

improve public education for all students; 

Whereas public charter schools— 

(1) give parents the freedom to choose public 

schools; 

(2) routinely measure parental satisfaction levels; 

and 

(3) must prove the ongoing success of the charter 

schools to parents, policymakers, and the communities 

served by the charter schools or risk closure; 

Whereas a 2015 report from the Center for Research on 

Education Outcomes at Stanford University found significant improvements for students at urban charter 

schools, and compared to peers of traditional public 


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schools, each year those students completed the equivalent of 28 more days of learning in reading and 40 more 

days of learning in math; 

Whereas parental demand for high-performing charter 

schools is high, and there was an estimated 5 percent 

growth in charter school enrollment between fall 2016 

and fall 2017; and 

Whereas the 19th annual National Charter Schools Week is 

celebrated the week of May 7 through May 11, 2018: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) congratulates the students, families, teach3 ers, leaders, and staff of public charter schools 

4 across the United States for— 

5 (A) making ongoing contributions to public 

6 education; 

7 (B) making impressive strides in closing 

8 the academic achievement gap in schools in the 

9 United States, particularly in schools with some 

10 of the most disadvantaged students in both 

11 rural and urban communities; and 

12 (C) improving and strengthening the public 

13 school system throughout the United States; 

14 (2) supports the ideals and goals of the 19th 

15 annual National Charter Schools Week, a week-long 

16 celebration held May 7 through May 11, 2018, in 

17 communities throughout the United States; and 


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1 (3) encourages the people of the United States 

2 to hold appropriate programs, ceremonies, and ac3 tivities for National Charter Schools Week to dem4 onstrate support for public charter schools. 

Æ 


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