III 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 449 

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 17th annual National Charter 

Schools Week, to be held May 1 through May 7, 2016. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 28, 2016 

Mr. ALEXANDER (for himself, Mr. BENNET, Mr. TOOMEY, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. 

CASSIDY, Mr. KIRK, Mr. VITTER, Mr. BURR, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. BOOZMAN, Ms. AYOTTE, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. HATCH, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. SCOTT, 

Mr. INHOFE, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. CARPER, Mr. COONS, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, 

Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. PERDUE, and Mr. WICKER) 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 17th annual National Charter 

Schools Week, to be held May 1 through May 7, 2016. 

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 449 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 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 449 ATS 

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

quality and truly accountable to the public; 

Whereas 43 States and the District of Columbia have enacted 

laws authorizing public charter schools; 

Whereas, as of the 2015–2016 school year, more than 6,800 

public charter schools served more than 2,900,000 children; 

Whereas enrollment in public charter schools grew from 

400,000 students in 2001 to 2,900,000 students in 2016, 

a sixfold increase in 15 years; 

Whereas in the United States— 

(1) in 160 school districts, more than 10 percent of 

public school students are enrolled in public charter 

schools; and 

(2) in 14 school districts, at least 30 percent of public school students are enrolled in public charter schools; 

Whereas public charter schools improve the 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 


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•SRES 449 ATS 

schools, and compared to peers of traditional public 

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 charter schools is high, and 

there was an estimated 9 percent growth in charter 

school enrollment between fall 2014 and fall 2105; and 

Whereas the 17th annual National Charter Schools Week is 

scheduled to be celebrated the week of May 1 through 

May 7, 2016: 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 17th 

15 annual National Charter Schools Week, a week-long 

16 celebration to be held May 1 through May 7, 2016, 

17 in communities throughout the United States; and 


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•SRES 449 ATS 

1 (3) encourages the people of the United States 

2 to hold appropriate programs, ceremonies, and ac3 tivities during National Charter Schools Week to 

4 demonstrate support for public charter schools. 

Æ 


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