Copyright 1999 Federal Document Clearing House, Inc.
Federal Document Clearing House Congressional Testimony
July 27, 1999
SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY
LENGTH: 574 words
HEADLINE:
TESTIMONY July 27, 1999 BILL GOODLING CHAIRMAN HOUSE EDUCATION
AND THE WORKFORCE LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS
BODY:
Opening Statement The Honorable Bill Goodling
(R-PA) Chairman Committee on Education and the Workforce House of
Representatives Hearing on Title I at the School District and School Building
Levels July 17,1999 "Good afternoon. Our hearing today is another step forward
in the authorization process for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
(ESEA). This is our fifth Title I hearing. "Today we will hear
from several Title I educators who will help us understand what Title I really
looks like at the local level, and what some of the special challenges are that
they face. We will hear from a principal of a schoolwide program in an
elementary school in Florida. We will also hear from administrators of rural and
urban school districts, and we will hear from a researcher at the National
Institutes of Child Health and Human Development. In just a few moments I will
proceed with a more detailed introduction of each of these distinguished
witnesses. "As with the bipartisan Teacher Empowerment Act which passed the
House last week, we will continue to focus upon the principles of quality,
accountability and local decision- making as we move ahead with the
authorization of Title I and the remaining programs in the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act. "As most here know, Title I is the largest K- 1 2
program of the Federal government and funded at about $8 billion per year. While
money is allocated on the basis of poverty, services are provided to
educationally disadvantaged or low achieving students. Too often we fail to
emphasize that Title I is designed to serve low achieving students, regardless
of whether they are in low or high poverty districts. "For over 30 years, Title
I has been with us in one form or another and over that time we have invested
about $120 billion in the program. Yet, for all those years, the Federal studies
and reports that keep coming back tell us that we've made little or no progress
in closing the achievement gap. If that were the private sector, we'd have been
out of business several years ago. So we will be taking a close look at how to
ensure that Title I is actually helping close the achievement gap. "There are
many other key issues that we will be considering. Those issues are: --Will
states meet the 2000-2001 school year deadline for having their assessments in
place? --Are Title I teachers' aides a wise use of taxpayer dollars? I am told
that about 20-25% of total Title I spending each year goes to pay for teachers'
aides and about equal numbers of teachers' aides and teachers are hired with
Title I funds. --Should teachers' aides even be allowed to instruct students?
--Should all Title I programs be schoolwide projects where schools can combine
Federal funds to serve the whole school, or is there still a role for the
targeted assistance programs? --Are public school officials providing
"meaningful consultation" to private school officials? --Should Title I benefits
be portable? --Should we move toward more achievement-based accountability as
many states and school districts have already begun to do? --Should we eliminate
many of the burdensome compliance-based requirements as the Inspector General
has suggested? --How are the use of third party contractors working in Title I?
--Are Title I parents becoming more involved in their children's education? "I
look forward to exploring these and other key issues with our witnesses."
LOAD-DATE: July 29, 1999 
