IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 114 

Recognizing the contributions of the public elementary schools and secondary 

schools in the United States as an investment in our country’s future 

and expresses the position of Congress that public funds should be 

spent to strengthen public elementary and secondary schools. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 13, 2018 

Ms. BONAMICI (for herself and Mr. POCAN) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 

the Workforce 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the contributions of the public elementary 

schools and secondary schools in the United States as 

an investment in our country’s future and expresses the 

position of Congress that public funds should be spent 

to strengthen public elementary and secondary schools. 

Whereas the Founding Fathers envisioned public education 

as a compelling government interest and a public good; 

Whereas the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

1965 affirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to 

equity and a quality education for all students; 

Whereas in the United States the Federal Government, State 

governments, and local governments fund public schools; 


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Whereas to strengthen our public education system, the Federal Government contributes on average 10 percent of 

public schools’ overall revenue; 

Whereas most Federal funding is statutorily directed to lowincome districts to provide disadvantaged students with 

additional resources; 

Whereas in many States, school districts rely heavily on local 

property tax as a source of revenue for public schools; 

Whereas in school year 2016–2017, more than 20 States provided fewer funds to public elementary and secondary 

schools than they had in the 2008 school year, before the 

Great Recession; 

Whereas according to data from school year 2011–2012, 

nearly half of States spent less per pupil in high-poverty 

districts than in low-poverty districts, and 20 States 

spent less per pupil in districts that had the highest 

share of minority students; 

Whereas since 2008, the number of public elementary school 

and secondary school teachers and other school workers 

has fallen by 135,000 while the number of students has 

risen by 1,419,000; 

Whereas 17 States with tuition tax credit programs spend 

approximately $1,000,000,000 of public funds each year 

on private schools; 

Whereas many studies show that vouchers have a statistically 

significant negative effect on student achievement; 

Whereas a 2017 report by the Institute of Education 

Sciences found that the District of Columbia’s Opportunity Scholarship Program, the Nation’s only federally 

funded voucher program, has a negative effect on the 


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•HCON 114 IH 

mathematics and reading achievement of participating 

students; 

Whereas according to a 2016 study of the effects of the Louisiana Scholarship Program on student achievement, a 

typical student using a voucher experiences a significant 

decrease in mathematics and reading achievement—as 

much as 24 percent in mathematics in the first year; 

Whereas the Thomas B. Fordham Institute’s evaluation of 

the Educational Choice Scholarship Program in Ohio estimates that the effects of participation in the voucher 

program on test scores are ‘‘unambiguously negative’’ for 

mathematics and reading; 

Whereas enrollment in private schools nationally has decreased steadily since 2001, and fewer students are projected to enroll in private schools in the future; 

Whereas many private schools are relying on voucher recipients to stay open; 

Whereas a 2013 report by the Government Accountability Office found that several private schools in the District of 

Columbia’s Opportunity Scholarship Program use Federal vouchers almost exclusively to serve voucher students; 

Whereas voucher recipients in Florida make up the majority 

of students at nearly half the private schools that participate in the State’s voucher programs; 

Whereas for many churches in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that 

operate private schools, the funding they receive from private school vouchers exceeds what parishioners donate; 

Whereas according to the Government Accountability Office’s 

2017 report, 83 percent of students enrolled in a disability voucher program were in a program that provided 


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either no information or inaccurate information about 

changes in rights under the Individuals with Disabilities 

Education Act; 

Whereas public schools serve more than 50,000,000 students, 

more than 90 percent of elementary school and secondary 

school students in the United States; 

Whereas public schools in the United States play a central 

role in preparing generations of people to participate in 

our country’s civic society and uphold democratic values 

and a commitment to equality; 

Whereas investing in public education is critical to the future 

health of our economy, our democracy, and our country’s 

global competitiveness; 

Whereas the system of public education in the United States 

includes choice for students and families through more 

than 3,000 magnet schools, more than 6,500 public charter schools, 35 States with intradistrict open enrollment 

policies, and 43 States with interdistrict enrollment policies; 

Whereas investing in public education matters; 

Whereas the resources Congress invests in public schools 

make a significant difference, especially for low-income 

students; 

Whereas the National Bureau of Economic Research found 

that, for each 10-percent increase in funding for highpoverty schools, students see a roughly 10-percent increase in future earnings, and in addition, increased investments in high-poverty schools raise educational attainment and reduce adult poverty; 

Whereas the solution to the inequities in our public education 

system is to provide a free, high-quality public education 


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for all students with sufficient resources for each public 

school to give every student access to advanced coursework, arts and music, physical education, safe school 

buildings, experienced educators, enriching afterschool 

learning opportunities, career and technical education 

programs, fully equipped libraries and computer labs, 

counselors and mental health professionals, and family 

engagement programs; 

Whereas without quality public education, there will exist a 

great divide between the educated and uneducated, corresponding to the divide between the rich and the poor 

and the strong and the weak; 

Whereas investing in public education is critical to student 

health as public schools serve as a lifeline for children 

who can’t access health services outside of school; and 

Whereas the solution is not to undercut the already underresourced public school budgets by shifting taxpayer 

funding to private school voucher programs that exacerbate inequality: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That Congress— 

3 (1) disapproves of using and expanding the use 

4 of Federal funds, including tax expenditures, to sub5 sidize tuition or other expenses associated with stu6 dents enrolling in private elementary schools and 

7 secondary schools, except for limited allowances per8 mitted in law; 


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1 (2) affirms that public funds should be used to 

2 support public elementary schools and secondary 

3 schools only; and 

4 (3) commits to increasing the investment of 

5 Federal funds in public elementary schools and sec6 ondary schools to reduce inequity and improve op7 portunities for all students in public elementary 

8 schools and secondary schools. 

Æ 


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