IV 

119TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 94 

Expressing support for the Nation’s local public K–12 schools and condemning 

any actions that would defund public education or weaken or dismantle 

the Department of Education. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 4, 2025 

Ms. BONAMICI (for herself, Mrs. MCIVER, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, 

Ms. SIMON, Mr. DOGGETT, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Mr. JOHNSON

of Georgia, Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mrs. RAMIREZ, Ms. SEWELL, 

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. GOLDMAN of New 

York, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. TITUS, Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania, Mr. FIELDS, 

Mr. POCAN, Mr. PETERS, Mr. KENNEDY of New York, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. 

WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. WILSON

of Florida, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. ANSARI, Mr. COURTNEY, Ms. 

SA ́NCHEZ, Ms. BUDZINSKI, Mr. MULLIN, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. THANEDAR, 

Mr. RASKIN, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. MOULTON, Mrs. MCBATH, Mr. DELUZIO, 

Mr. NADLER, Mr. OLSZEWSKI, Mr. SOTO, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. 

STANSBURY, Mr. CASAR, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. ROSS, 

Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mrs. FLETCHER, Ms. DEXTER, Ms. 

BYNUM, Mr. STANTON, Ms. SALINAS, Ms. HOYLE of Oregon, Ms. CRAIG, 

Mr. MANNION, Ms. STEVENS, Ms. MCDONALD RIVET, Mrs. HAYES, and 

Ms. MCCOLLUM) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 

to the Committee on Education and Workforce 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing support for the Nation’s local public K–12 

schools and condemning any actions that would defund 

public education or weaken or dismantle the Department 

of Education. 


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•HRES 94 IH 

Whereas the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) defines free public education as education that is ‘‘provided at public expense, 

under public supervision and direction, and without tuition charge’’ and ‘‘provided as elementary or secondary 

education in the applicable State or to preschool children’’; 

Whereas publicly funded local K–12 schools serve millions of 

students and families and provide economic opportunity 

for all, including in rural and geographically isolated 

areas; 

Whereas, approximately 90 percent of students in the United 

States in prekindergarten through 12th grade and about 

95 percent of students with disabilities attend a public 

school; 

Whereas State and local funding for public K–12 schools varies significantly within States and across the United 

States, creating additional need among schools in underresourced communities; 

Whereas the role of the Federal Government in public education has historically been to level the playing field by 

creating equity of opportunity for all students, regardless 

of their background, ability, or ZIP Code in which they 

are educated; 

Whereas Federal funding plays a critical role in narrowing 

funding gaps for disadvantaged students, providing integrated and wraparound supports for students and families, helping students meet challenging State academic 

standards, and increasing the chances of success in education and the workforce; 


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•HRES 94 IH 

Whereas 2025 marks the 60th anniversary of the Elementary 

and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) and the 

50th anniversary of the Education for All Handicapped 

Children Act, now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.); 

Whereas the Department of Education Organization Act (20 

U.S.C. 3401 et seq.), enacted in 1979, declares ‘‘that the 

establishment of a Department of Education is in the 

public interest, will promote the general welfare of the 

United States, will help ensure that education issues receive proper treatment at the Federal level, and will enable the Federal Government to coordinate its education 

activities more effectively’’; 

Whereas the Department of Education serves approximately 

100,000 public K–12 schools across the country, which 

collectively educate more than 49,000,000 students; 

Whereas reading and mathematics scores and college degree 

attainment have substantially increased since the Department of Education was established; 

Whereas the Department of Education is also a civil rights 

agency responsible for protecting students from discrimination and advancing educational equity and its Office 

for Civil Rights enforces Federal laws prohibiting discrimination and harassment, including investigating 

record numbers of incidents of discrimination and hate in 

recent years despite employing only about half of the 

staff the Office had when it was originally established; 

Whereas the Department of Education administers IDEA 

grants to help public schools serve more than 7,500,000 

students with disabilities, a substantial financial commitment that cannot reasonably be assumed by State or 


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•HRES 94 IH 

local governments, and provides monitoring and oversight 

to hold States accountable for providing a free appropriate public education for students with disabilities; 

Whereas the Department of Education provides supplementary funding through ESEA title I–A grants to more 

than 51,000 public schools serving concentrated populations of students from low-income families in rural, 

suburban, and urban communities; 

Whereas the Department of Education provides funding 

through ESEA title IV–F to support full-service community schools, which partner with local stakeholders, parents, and families to provide common sense, locally driven 

solutions to the challenges students and families face; 

Whereas the Department of Education provides vital support 

to thousands of rural school districts through the Rural 

Education Achievement program under ESEA title V–B, 

which funds both the Small, Rural School Achievement 

grant program and the Rural and Low-Income School 

grant program; 

Whereas the Department of Education directly invests in the 

quality and effectiveness of nearly 90 percent of teachers 

and approximately 20 percent of school leaders nationwide through ESEA title II–A professional development 

grants, ultimately improving retention rates, addressing 

the nationwide educator shortage, and improving student 

achievement; 

Whereas the Department of Education provides supplementary funding to help more than 5,000,000 Englishlanguage learners achieve language proficiency and meet 

State academic standards through ESEA title III–A 

grants; 


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•HRES 94 IH 

Whereas the Department of Education provides supplementary funding to help tens of thousands of public 

schools provide well-rounded education, technology support, and school safety measures through ESEA title IV– 

A, IV–B, and IV–F grants; 

Whereas the Department of Education provides grants under 

ESEA title IV–E to support the work of Statewide Family Engagement Centers, which provide parent education 

initiatives, family engagement programs, and familyschool partnerships; 

Whereas the Department of Education supports the education of Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native 

children, consistent with the historic trust responsibility, 

through ESEA title VI grants; 

Whereas the Department of Education provides funds to 

strengthen and support career and technical education 

programs for more than 8,200,000 secondary students 

across the country through title I of the Carl D. Perkins 

Career and Technical Education Act (20 U.S.C. 2321 et 

seq.); 

Whereas the Department of Education provides necessary 

oversight so students have access to targeted interventions and services; 

Whereas the Department of Education protects students, 

families, and staff from discrimination based on race, 

color, or national origin under title VI of the Civil Rights 

Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), based on sex 

under title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 

U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), and based on disability under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 

794) and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 


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•HRES 94 IH 

U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) so all individuals can access equal 

educational and employment opportunities; 

Whereas the Department of Education invests in research to 

understand and disseminate information about the interventions and practices that are most effective at providing excellent educational opportunities for all students; 

Whereas the Department of Education employs the smallest 

staff of any Department, with the lowest overall staff-tobudget ratio of all 15 Departments; 

Whereas dismantling or relocating any major offices within 

the Department of Education may substantially disrupt 

program administration and create a delay or loss of vitally important supports for students and funding for 

public schools across the Nation; and 

Whereas, without Federal investment, State and local educational agencies would be forced to enact drastic funding 

cuts that would disproportionately affect students from 

rural areas, low-income families, students of color, and 

students with disabilities, as well as harm American competition in the global economy: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) strongly supports Federal investment in 

3 public K–12 schools and the students and families 

4 served by these schools; 

5 (2) affirms that the Department of Education 

6 plays a vital role in the Nation’s system of public 

7 education; 

8 (3) affirms that the Federal Government’s in9 vestment is important to the success of students in 


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•HRES 94 IH 

1 public schools, and investment in public education 

2 should not be diverted, including through the use of 

3 vouchers, to privately run K–12 schools; and 

4 (4) rejects any claim that the executive branch 

5 has the legal authority to, or would serve the Nation 

6 by— 

7 (A) dismantling or relocating major offices 

8 within the Department of Education; 

9 (B) dismantling or relocating the Depart10 ment of Education; or 

11 (C) reducing Federal funding for public 

12 education, blocking the granting of major Fed13 eral grant programs for education, or transfer14 ring funding burdens for education to State and 

15 local governments. 

Æ 


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