Date: 2013-07-19
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. I yield myself 5 minutes. Mr. Chairman. this debate highlights some of the stark choices about the direction of our education system. The Republican bill sends us backwards. letting students down at a critical time. This substitute amendment Im offering will move the Nation forward. Every day. schools are making great strides to take our education system into the 21st century. They are raising standards. trying new ways to boost learning. improving the skills of teachers and principals. Mr. Chairman. we. in Congress. should be a partner in these efforts. providing resources and the support to help them move forwardnot gutting funding and walking away from our responsibility to help. as the Republican bill does. Despite some good things in current law. No Child Left Behinds onesizefitsall approach has hampered progress. Its time to revise the law. building on what we have learned over the past decade. spreading best practices to all schools. not just to some. The Democratic approach does this. It maintains our bedrock civil rights responsibility. My amendment would help ensure that all students have access to a worldclass education. regardless of their background or ZIP code. and that teachers. principals. and schools have supports and resources to provide that education. Unlike the Republican bill. the Democratic amendment improves current law in several ways: We call upon States to set high expectations for students. ensuring every child graduates prepared for college or for a career. We eliminate the onesizefitsall approach of accountability called AYP. but we still call on schools to improve the student learning and graduation rates each year. We give districts and schools the flexibility to determine how to improve learning and graduation rates. We ensure teachers and principals get timely and useful feedback so that they can improve their skills. We also ensure educators have good working conditions and positive supports to help them do their jobs even better than they do now. We provide robust funding for literacy. for STEM. for technology and other subjects like art and music to ensure that all students have a wellrounded education. and We provide resources and supports to ensure that students are safe. healthy. and free from bullying in schools so that they can focus on learning. The Republican bill does not come close to meeting any of these goals. In their effort to eliminate Federal involvement in education: They let students down. They fail to ensure students improve their learning or graduate from high school. They fail to ensure that students with disabilities are taught to the same high standards as other students. They fail to provide adequate funding and resources for students and schools. They fail to move beyond the narrow focus of reading and math and to ensure that all students get a wellrounded education. If we cant pass a better bipartisan bill. No Child Left Behind will remain the law of the land. and this is unacceptable. Its unacceptable to the scores of organizations who oppose H.R. 5. from business to labor to civil rights to disability advocates to education organizations. and thats why so many groups support this substitute amendment. This fight is about equity. Its about every child in our country getting an education they deserve. regardless of poverty. disability. or other challenges. I urge my Democratic and Republican colleagues to support this Democratic substitute so that the students and their families have the education system they need to prepare for the future. I reserve the balance of my time.