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[Page: S7127] GPO's PDF---
By Ms. SNOWE:
S. 1224. A bill to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to encourage students, including young women, to pursue demanding careers and higher education degrees in mathematics, science, engineering and technology; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation that will ensure our nation's students, and young women in particular, are encouraged to pursue degrees and careers in math, science, engineering, and technology.
Mr. President, if our children are to be prepared for the globally competitive economy of the next century, they must not only have access to the technologies that will dominate the workforce and job market that they will enter--but they should also be encouraged to pursue degrees in the fields that underlie these technologies.
We simply cannot ignore that six out of ten new jobs require technological skills--skills that are seriously lacking in our workforce today. The impact of this technological illiteracy is devastating for our nation's businesses, with an estimated loss in productivity of $30 billion every year, and the inability of companies across the nation to fill an estimated 190,000 technology jobs in mid- to large-sized companies. In fact, these very job vacancies led to Congress passing legislation last year that increased the number of H1-B visas that could be issued to foreign workers to enter the United States.
Furthermore, according to a 1994 report by the American School Counselors Association, 65 percent of all jobs will require technical skills in the year 2000, with 20 percent being professional and only 15 percent relying on unskilled labor. In addition, between 1996 and 2006, all occupations expect a 14 percent increase in jobs, but Information Technology occupations should jump by 75 percent. As this data implies, today's students must gain a different knowledge base than past generations of students if they are to be prepared for, and competitive in, the global job market of the 21st Century.
Mr. President, even as we should seek to increase student access and exposure
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Accordingly, the legislation I am offering today is designed to ensure that our nation's students are encouraged to pursue degrees in these demanding fields. In particular, my legislation will ensure that young girls--who are currently less likely to enter these fields than their male counterparts--be encouraged to enter these fields of study.
Mr. President, as was highlighted in the American Association of University Women report, ``Gender Gaps: Where Schools Still Fail Our Children,'' when compared to boys, girls might be at a significant disadvantage as technology is increasingly incorporated into the classroom. Not only do girls tend to come into the classroom with less exposure to computers and other technology, but they also tend to believe that they are less adept at using technology than boys.
In light of these findings, it should come as no surprise that girls are dramatically underrepresented in advanced computer science courses after graduation from high school. Furthermore, it should come as no surprise that girls tend to gravitate toward the fields of social sciences, health services, and education, while boys disproportionately gravitate toward the fields of engineering and business.
In fact, data gathered in 1997 on the intended majors of college-bound students found that a larger proportion of female than male SAT test-takers intended to major in visual and performing arts, biological sciences, education, foreign or classical languages, health and allied services, language and lierature, and the social sciences. In contrast, a larger portion of boys than girls intended to major in agriculture and natural resources, business and commerce, engineering, mathematics, and physical sciences.
While all of these fields are invaluable--and students should always be encouraged to choose the fields of study and careers that interest them most--I believe it is critical that we ensure students do not balk at entering a particular field of study or career simply because it has typically been associated with ``males'' or ``females.'' Instead, all students should be aware of the multitude of opportunities that are available to them, and encouraged to enter those fields that they find of interest.
Mr. President, young women should not shy away from technical careers simply because they are more often associated with men--and they should not avoid higher education courses that would give them the knowledge and skills they need for these jobs simply because they are more typically taken by young men. Accordingly, my legislation will ensure that fields relying on skills in math, science, engineering, and technology will be promoted to all students--and especially girls--to ensure that the numerous opportunities and demands of the job market in the 21st Century are met.
Specifically, the ``High Technology for Girls Act'' will expand the possible uses of monies provided under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA ) of 1965 to ensure young women are encouraged to pursue demanding careers and higher education degrees in mathematics, science, engineering, and technology. As a result, monies provided for Professional Development Activities, the National Teacher Training Project, and the Technology for Education programs can be used by schools to ensure
these fields of study and careers are presented in a favorable manner to all students.
Of critical importance, schools will be able to use these monies for the development of mentoring programs, model programs, or other appropriate programs in partnership with local businesses or institutions of higher education. As a result, programs will be created that meld the best ideas from educators and the private sector, thereby improving the manner in which these fields are presented and taught--and ultimately putting a positive ``face'' on fields that may otherwise be shunned by young women.
Mr. President, as Congress moves forward in its effort to reauthorize the ESEA , I believe the provisions contained in this legislation would be a positive and much-needed step toward preparing our students for the jobs of the 21st Century. We cannot afford to let any of our nation's students overlook the fields of study that will be the cornerstone of the global job market of the future, and my legislation will help ensure that does not happen.
Accordingly, I urge that my colleagues support the ``High Technology for Girls Act,'' and look forward to working for its adoption during the consideration of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
By Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Mr. GREGG, Mr. CONRAD, Mr. BURNS, Mr. KERREY, Mr. HAGEL, and Mr. HUTCHINSON):
S. 1225. A bill to provide for a rural education initiative, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
RURAL EDUCATION INITIATIVE ACT
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Rural Education Initiative Act. I am very pleased to be joined by my colleagues Senators GREGG, CONRAD, KERREY, BURNS, HUTCHINSON, and HAGEL as original cosponsors of this commonsense, bipartisan proposal to help rural schools make better use of Federal education dollars. I also want to acknowledge the valuable assistance provided by the American Association of School Administrators in the drafting of this legislation.
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act authorizes formula and competitive grants that allow many of our local school districts to improve the education of their students. These Federal grants support efforts to promote such laudable goals as the professional development of teachers, the incorporation of technology into the classroom, gifted and talented programs and class-size reduction. Schools receive several categorical grants supporting these programs, each with its own authorized activities and regulations and each with its own redtape and paperwork. Unfortunately, as valuable as these programs may be for thousands of predominantly urban and suburban school districts, they simply do not work well in rural areas.
The Rural Education Initiative Act will make these Federal grant programs more flexible in order to help school districts in rural communities with fewer than 600 students. Six hundred may not sound like many students to some of my colleagues from more populous or urban States, but they may be surprised to learn that more than 35 percent of all school districts in the United States have 600 or fewer students. In my State of Maine, 56 percent, or 158 of its 284 school districts, have fewer than 600 students. The two education initiatives contained in our legislation will overcome some of the most challenging obstacles that these districts face in participating in Federal education programs.
The first rural education initiative deals with four formula grants. Formula-driven grants from some education programs simply do not reach small rural schools in amounts that are sufficient to improve curriculum and teaching in the same way that they do for larger suburban or urban schools.
This is because the grants are based on school district enrollment. Unfortunately, these individual grants confront smaller schools with a dilemma; namely, they simply may not receive enough funding from any single grant to carry out meaningful activity. Our legislation will allow a district to combine the funds from four categorical programs.
Under the Rural Education Initiative Act, rural districts will be permitted to combine the funds from these programs and use the money to support reform efforts of their own choice to improve the achievement of their students and the quality of the instruction. Instead of receiving grants from four independent programs, each insufficient to accomplish the program's objectives, these rural districts will have the flexibility to combine the grants and the
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I want to emphasize that the rural initiative I have just described does not change the level of funding a district receives under these formula grant programs. It simply gives these rural districts the flexibility they need to use the funds far more effectively.
The second rural initiative in our legislation involves several competitive grant programs that present small rural schools with a different problem. Because many rural school districts simply do not have the resources required to hire grant writers and to manage a grant, they are essentially shut out of those programs where grants are competitively awarded.
The Rural Education Initiative Act will give small, rural districts a formula grant in lieu of eligibility for the competitive programs of the ESEA . A district will be able to combine this new formula grant with the funds from the regular formula grants and use the combined moneys for any purpose that will improve student achievement or teaching quality.
Districts might use these funds, for example, to hire a new reading or math teacher, to fund important professional development, to offer a program for gifted and talented students, to purchase high technology, or to upgrade a science lab, or to pay for any other activity that meets the district's priorities and needs.
Let me give you a specific example of what these two initiatives will mean for one Maine school district, School Administrative District 33. This district serves two northern Maine communities, Frenchville and St. Agatha. Each of these communities has about 200 school-age children. SAD 33 receives four separate formula grants ranging from about $1,900 from the Safe and Drug Free Schools Program to $9,500 under the Class Size Reduction Act.
You can see the problem right there. The amounts of the grants under these programs are so small that they really are not useful in accomplishing the goals of the program. The total received by this small school district for all four of the programs is just under $16,000. But each grant must be applied for separately, used for different--and federally mandated--purposes, and accounted for independently.
Under our legislation, this school district will be freed from the multiple applications and reports, and it will have $16,000 to use for locally identified education priorities. In addition, since SAD 33 does not have the resources needed to apply for the current competitively awarded grant programs, our legislation will allow this school district to receive a
supplemental formula grant of $34,000. The bottom line is, under my legislation this district will have about $50,000 and the flexibility to use these Federal funds to address its most pressing educational needs.
But with this flexibility and additional funding comes responsibility. In return for the advantages and flexibility that our legislation provides, participating districts will be held accountable for demonstrating improved student performance. Each participating school district will be required to administer the same test of its choice annually during the 5-year period of this program. Based on the results of this test, a district will have to show that student achievement has improved in order to continue its participation beyond the 5-year period.
Since Maine and many other States already administer annual education assessments, districts will not incur any significant administrative burden in accounting and complying with this accountability provision. More important, the schools will be held responsible for what is really important, and that is improved student achievement, rather than for time-consuming paperwork in the form of applications and reports.
As one rural Maine superintendent told me: ``Give me the resources I need plus the flexibility to use them, and I am happy to be held accountable for improved student performance. It will happen.''
The Federal Government has an important role to play in improving education in our schools. But it has a supporting role, whereas States and communities have the lead role. We must improve our education system, we must enhance student achievement, without requiring every school in this Nation to adopt a plan designed in Washington and without imposing burdensome and costly regulations in return for Federal assistance.
The two initiatives contained in our bill will accomplish those goals. They will allow rural schools to use their own strategies for improvement without the encumbrance of onerous regulations and unnecessary paperwork. It is my hope that we will be able to enact this important and bipartisan legislation this year.
I thank my colleagues for their attention.
Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, today, I join my esteemed colleagues Senator COLLINS and CONRAD in introducing the Rural Education Initiative Act (REA). This Act represents a bipartisan approach to address the unique needs of 35% of school districts in the United States, specifically small, rural school districts. It does not authorize any new money. Rather, REA amends the Rural Education Demonstration Grants under Part J, of Title X, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and retains the current ESEA authorization of up to $125 million for rural education programs.
Rural school districts are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to both receiving and using federal education funds. They either don't receive enough federal funds to run the program for which the funds are allocated or don't receive federal funds for programs for which they have to fill out applications. Small rural school districts rarely apply for federal competitive grants because they lack the resources and expertise required to fill out complicated and time intensive applications for federal education grants, which means that rural school districts lose out on millions of federal education dollars each year.
The Rural Education Initiative Act addresses both the problem of rural school districts' inability to generate enough money under federal formula grants to run a program and the problem of rural school districts' inability to compete for federal discretionary grants.
With regard to federal education formula grants, REA permits rural school districts to merge funds from the President's 100,000 New Teachers program and several Elementary and Secondary Education Act programs, specifically Eisenhower Professional Development, Safe and Drug Free Schools, Innovative Education Program Strategies. Under REA, school districts can pool funds from these federal education programs and use the money for a variety of activities that the district believes will contribute to improved student achievement.
With regard to federal discretionary grants for which rural grants have to compete, the bill stipulates that small rural school districts who decline to apply for federal discretionary grants are eligible to receive money under a rural education formula grant. As a result, school districts would no longer have to go through the application process to receive federal funds. School districts that had to forgo applying for discretionary grants simply because they did not have the resources to do so, would no longer be penalized. As with their other federal grant money, a school district would have broad flexibility on how to use funds provided under this new grant to improve student achievement and the quality of instruction.
A local school district can combine their other formula grant money with this new direct grant to create a large flexible grant at the school district level to: hire a new teacher, purchase a computer, provide professional development, offer advanced placement or vocational education courses or just about any other activity that would contribute to increased student achievement and higher quality of instruction.
In addition to the aforementioned changes, REA has a strong accountability piece. The bill stipulates that rural school districts may only continue to receive the rural education initiative grant and have enormous flexibility over other federal education dollars if in fact they can show a marked improvement in student achievement.
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