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As Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions, I have been working hard over
the past two years to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965. After two dozen hearings, including
those in Bennington, Montpelier, and Winooski, I drafted legislation
that would help Vermonters and educators across the country to
provide an ever better education for our children.
My
legislation would authorize increases in funding for America's
public schools and strengthen the accountability system for
measuring student performance. It would provide additional
assistance to States in undertaking the assessment process, which is
the final component of reforms initiated in 1994. My bill
would also establish a muchneeded initiative dealing with
professional development for superintendents, principals, and other
school leaders. In addition, the bill earmarks more resources
for Safe and Drug Free Schools and provides additional support and
flexibility to rural schools to permit these schools to make the
most of the federal assistance they receive.
The legislation would also extend the 21st Century Community
Learning Centers program, which I authored back in 1994. This
program encourages schools to work with community and business
leaders to provide access to important educational and human
services. The schoolbased community learning centers provide
safe, drugfree, supervised, and costeffective afterschool, weekend,
or summer programs for youth and their families. This program
has grown to provide almost $500 million in funding each year to
schools across Vermont and the nation.
Unfortunately, although the Senate considered this bill for two
weeks in May, little progress was made. It appears as though
it may become a victim to the partisan stalemate that has engulfed
so much of Congress' work this year.
However, these issues will still be debated over the course of
the appropriations process that will consume much of Congress' time
over the remainder of this year's session. I am hopeful that
the these programs will be renewed and that new initiatives, such as
an early education proposal I am sponsoring with Senator Stevens,
will be enacted into law. In doing so, we will come closer to
realizing the goal of a worldclass education system for every
child. |
