III
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 310
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MAY 4, 2000
Received and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Supporting a National Charter Schools Week.
Whereas charter schools are public schools authorized by a
designated public body and operating on the principles of
accountability, parent flexibility, choice, and autonomy;
Whereas in exchange for the flexibility and autonomy given
to charter schools, they are held accountable by their
sponsors for improving student achievement and for their
financial and other operations;
HCON 310 RFS
Whereas 36 States, the District of Columbia, and the Com-
monwealth of Puerto Rico have passed laws authorizing
charter schools;
Whereas 35 States, the District of Columbia, and the Com-
monwealth of Puerto Rico will have received more than
$350 million in grants from the Federal Government by
the end of the current fiscal year for planning, startup,
and implementation of charter schools since their author-
ization in 1994 under title X, part C of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8061
et seq.);
Whereas 32 States, the District of Columbia, and the Com-
monwealth of Puerto Rico are serving approximately
350,000 students in more than 1,700 charter schools
during the 1999 to 2000 school year;
Whereas charter schools can be vehicles both for improving
student achievement for students who attend them and
for stimulating change and improvement in all public
schools and benefitting all public school students;
Whereas charter schools in many States serve significant
numbers of students with lower income, students of color,
and students with disabilities;
Whereas the Charter Schools Expansion Act of 1998 (Public
Law 105–278) amended the Federal grant program for
charter schools authorized by title X, part C of the Ele-
mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 8061 et seq.) to strengthen accountability provi-
sions at the Federal, State, and local levels to ensure that
charter public schools are of high quality and are truly
accountable to the public;
Whereas 7 of 10 charter schools report having a waiting list;
HCON 310 RFS
Whereas students in charter schools nationwide have similar
demographic characteristics as students in all public
schools;
Whereas charter schools have enjoyed broad bipartisan sup-
port from the Administration, the Congress, State gov-
ernors and legislatures, educators, and parents across the
Nation; and
Whereas charter schools are laboratories of reform and serve
as models of how to educate children as effectively as
possible: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That—
(1) the Congress acknowledges and commends
the charter school movement for its contribution to
improving our Nation’s public school system; and
(2) it is the sense of the Congress that—
(A) a National Charter Schools Week
should be established; and
(B) the President should issue a proclama-
tion calling on the people of the United States
to conduct appropriate programs, ceremonies,
and activities to demonstrate support for char-
ter schools in communities throughout the Na-
tion.
Passed the House of Representatives May 3, 2000.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.