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Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about an issue of paramount importance to this nation, how we educate our children.
We in the Senate have the difficult task before us of passing legislation that re-authorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act which determines how the Federal Government allocates money to our public schools.
Unfortunately, all signs from the Committee point to yet another political stalemate and neither side appears to be pushing any closer toward common ground.
In hopes of breaking this unproductive dynamic, I have joined with a group of my moderate Democratic colleagues here in the Senate to promote a ``Third Way'' on ESEA, one that synthesizes the best ideas of both sides into a whole new approach to federal education policy.
We are calling this bill the ``Three R's'' and it is a bold effort at streamlining numerous Federal education programs and refocusing federal resources on raising academic achievement. This blueprint will give more funding and flexibility to local school districts, in exchange for greater accountability.
Mr. President, today I would like to specifically talk about the component of the bill that focuses on teacher quality. We call our bill the ``Three R's'' and a similar acronym can apply to our efforts to improve teacher quality. Our plan can best be summed up by ``Four R's'': recruiting, retention, resources, and above all ..... RESPECT.
The difficulty schools experience today in recruiting and retaining quality teachers is one of the most enormous obstacles facing our education system. We cannot expect students to be successful if they don't work with quality teachers; and we can't expect quality teachers to stay in the profession if they don't get adequate training, resources or respect.
Most experts agree that teacher quality is as important as any other factor in raising student achievement. The legislation we are introducing today would consolidate several teacher training initiatives into a single formula grant program for improving the quality of public school teachers, principals and administrators.
This proposal would increase professional development funding by 100 percent to $1.6 billion annually and target that funding to the neediest school districts. In my home State of Arkansas, this will mean an additional $12 million for teacher quality initiatives.
In addition, the ``Three R's'' would give States and school districts more flexibility to design effective teacher recruitment and professional development initiatives to meet their specific needs.
One overreaching goal we propose today is to require that all teachers be fully-qualified by 2005. Even the best teachers can't teach what they don't know or haven't learned themselves. To be successful, we must work harder to reduce out-of-field teaching and require educators to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the subjects they teach.
I have the highest respect for the teachers, principals, and superintendents who dedicate their talent and skills everyday to prepare our children for tomorrow. I think they have some of the hardest, and most important, jobs in the world. Our Nation's future, in large part, depends on the work that they do. Our teacher quality proposal is an example of how combining the concepts of increased funding, targeting, flexibility and accountability, we can join with state and local educators to give our children a high-quality education every child deserves.
I hope this plan will serve as a blueprint to improving public education as we enter into what is sure to be a lengthy and contentious ESEA debate.
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