Title: 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.
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Disapproves of using and expanding the use of federal funds, including tax expenditures, to subsidize tuition or other expenses associated with students enrolling in private elementary schools and secondary schools, except for limited allowances permitted in law.
Affirms that public funds should be used to support public elementary schools and secondary schools only.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 114 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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;
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 low-income 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 
        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 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 high-poverty 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 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 under-resourced public 
        school budgets by shifting taxpayer funding to private school voucher 
        programs that exacerbate inequality: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) disapproves of using and expanding the use of Federal 
        funds, including tax expenditures, to subsidize tuition or 
        other expenses associated with students enrolling in private 
        elementary schools and secondary schools, except for limited 
        allowances permitted in law;
            (2) affirms that public funds should be used to support 
        public elementary schools and secondary schools only; and
            (3) commits to increasing the investment of Federal funds 
        in public elementary schools and secondary schools to reduce 
        inequity and improve opportunities for all students in public 
        elementary schools and secondary schools.
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