Contacts:
Billie Rollins
Josh Mahoney
COUNCIL OF CHIEF STATE SCHOOL
OFFICERS JOINS UNITED PUBLIC-PRIVATE SUPPORT OF TITLE I
ESEA
Washington, D. C. February 4, 1999--"The Council of Chief State
School Officers is pleased to join with colleagues representing public,
private and religious organizations in support for reauthorization of
Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which helps
educate children of poverty attending either public or private schools,"
said Gordon M. Ambach, Executive Director of the Council of Chief State
School Officers.
"For more than three decades, the federal government has provided
vital assistance for educating economically disadvantaged children, both
in public and private schools. This long standing program, the largest
single federal aid for elementary and secondary education is the prime
example of constitutionally permissible education support for children
in both sectors. The program brings private and public authorities
together in mutual support for targeted, categorical aid with no need
for block grants or vouchers. It brings private and public sector
leaders together in mutual endorsement of sound federal policy.
"Our Council hopes that this statement leads to joint support by the
private and public sectors for other parts of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act, including federal assistance for professional
development, learning technology, and innovative strategies. This
statement proclaims our belief that we already have sound federal
programs for children in both public and private schools to the benefit
of both sectors. They should be continued in the reauthorization."
The following statement was released at the press conference:
As public, private and religious organizations dedicated to improving
education, we believe and reiterate that the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 was a major step forward in the effort to
ensure equal educational opportunity and has greatly benefited AmericaÕs
children, especially the poor and disadvantaged.
For decades, several unrelated issues prevented passage of federal
legislation to aid elementary and secondary education. Some lawmakers
opposed civil rights protections, a concern that was overcome by the
passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Others were concerned about the
proposed participation of private and religious schools. Since federal
aid was thought of as general aid that would support school districtsÕ
regular operations, it was feared that inclusion of private and
religious schools in any assistance effort would raise constitutional
objections and jeopardize the entire program.
In 1964, a President and Congress were elected who were determined to
enact new federal aid to education legislation. Given the potential
problems associated with general aid to private and religious schools,
new thinking was required if federal aid to education was to have the
best chance for both enactment and avoiding potential Constitutional
problems. With the landmark 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act
(ESEA), Congress and the President met these challenges and overcame
them. They agreed to two very important principles for providing
services to students in public, private and religious schools. These
principles were: (1) "child benefit" Ð providing "special types" of
assistance or services primarily for needy students and only
incidentally for the school they attend; and (2) the aid would be
channeled through "public trustees" Ð public authorities who would
receive the ESEA funds and, in turn, would act as accountable trustees
on behalf of all the eligible children n their community, regardless of
the type of school they attend.
While Title I has undergone many changes in the 35 years since
enactment, the guiding principles of "child benefit" and "public
trustees" have remained central even as other features of the program
have changed. Title I has become a major program supporting multiple
efforts to improve educational achievement among poor children. We will
work to keep it that way.
Under the Act, most of the funding goes to schools and school
districts serving the highest concentration of poor children, and
assistance is available through multiple programs to educationally
disadvantaged children in whatever school they attend. Over the
yearsÑand during the time when there was little good news of any kind
about the education of disadvantaged childrenÑTitle I has produced
success, especially for children who reside in areas of high poverty.
In the decades since the enactment of ESEA, many efforts have been
made to turn Title I into something that was never envisioned in the
original program. Efforts have been made to "block grant" the program so
that poor children would no longer be the focus of assistance. Proposals
for Title I-funded vouchers, to be used to pay for general education
costs, have been offered in place of the existing program. We believe
these efforts are neither politically viable nor necessary. They will
not improve Title I as a program to serve disadvantaged children.
We, the undersigned groups, will work together to ensure that a bill
reauthorizing Title I of ESEA passes the 106th Congress. We will work
for a bill that:
- Is consistent with the child benefit principle of providing
special types of assistance to meet the needs of disadvantaged school
children and only incidentally serving the school or school district.
- Is consistent with the public trustee principleÑTitle I funds
would flow to public authorities, who in turn would arrange for
services to all eligible children.
- Requires that public, private and religious school officials
continue to work together to provide benefits to poor and
educationally disadvantaged children.
- Supplies substantial additional dollars to local school districts
with the greatest number of poor and educationally disadvantaged
children enrolled in public, private and religious schools.
- Is a categorical program that targets resources to the most
disadvantaged children and also permits flexibility in the use of
these funds at the local level in order to meet the needs of children.
- Requires that Title I funds supplement other education programs
students are entitled to and prohibits the supplanting of these funds.
Finally, we pledge to work together to achieve full funding of Title
I so that all children in need of assistance receive the help they need
and deserve. We invite others to join with us to make sure that a
reauthorized Title I reflects the principles listed above.
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