Copyright 1999 Federal Document Clearing House, Inc.
Federal Document Clearing House Congressional Testimony
September 23, 1999
SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY
LENGTH: 2494 words
HEADLINE:
TESTIMONY September 23, 1999 GINNY MARKELL PRESIDENT NATIONAL PTA
HOUSE BUDGET STATE, LOCAL AND PRIVATE EDUCATION PLAN
BODY:
Testimony of the National PTA on State, Local
and Private Education Plans Virginia Markell, President September 23, 1999 House
Committee on the Budget United States House of Representatives Washington, D.C.
Good morning Chairman Kasich and members of the Committee. I am Ginny Markell,
President of the National PTA, the oldest and largest child advocacy
organization with 6.5 million members. I appreciate being part of today s
discussion and I am pleased that you have placed particular emphasis on the
importance of parental involvement in education reform. Much of today s hearing
has focused on vouchers so I will begin by giving the National PTA s perspective
on that issue and then move to where the debate really should be focused: how to
make every public school an effective school and the programs and funding needed
to get there. National PTA opposes vouchers because: Vouchers do not give
families "choice." The only choice belongs to private and religious schools who
are able to hand select the children they admit. Vouchers divert public funds to
private schools, which have limited public accountability and do not have to
meet the same criteria as public schools. To be held accountable, the private
and religious schools may have to sacrifice their autonomy over curriculum and
other policy decisions. Vouchers do not equalize educational opportunities.
Vouchers will not help the most disadvantaged families, nor will they assure
access to a quality education, especially for those with disabilities or special
needs. Voucher proponents have not provided strong evidence that they improve
academic achievement. Research conducted on voucher programs has been
conflicting at best. After more than nine years of voucher experiments, a clear
and statistically valid success story has not yet emerged. Vouchers create
unnecessary and costly administrative burdens on states and districts. At a time
when policy-makers are calling for more education flexibility, voucher programs
would impose new levels of administrative management and oversight. Vouchers
only benefit a small percentage of children. Public schools educate 90% of our
nation s students. National PTA has other concerns about vouchers too. They
divide communities and prevent substantive education reforms from moving
forward. Voucher fights are ongoing in state legislatures, in the courts and at
the local level. Numerous opinion polls continuously demonstrate that the public
strongly supports public education. Accordingly, policies should focus on
strengthening public schools, not promoting proposals that split the community
and only help a select few students. In addition, there are significant problems
with the few voucher programs that already exist. For example, both the
Milwaukee and Cleveland programs have been cited for not adhering to the
selection and admission requirements outlined in the laws. Others have
structural problems; for instance the program in Florida, which Governor Bush
described earlier, punishes failing schools by stripping away their funds and
sending a small number of students to other schools. What happens to those
children left behind in the failing school? If Congress passes a national
voucher proposal these problems would be greatly magnified. Mr. Chairman, and
other members of the Committee, another key factor in this debate is cost. Just
to provide vouchers to the students who already attend private schools would
cost $15 billion. For a comparison, that is more than the entire federal
investment provided through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act which
benefits nearly 90% of school districts. Vouchers cannot be the answer to
education reform for our nation s students. The answer is to increase the
federal investment in the education system we already have. Current Department
of Education programs, which are targeted to address specific needs, have been
effective in improving student achievement and reforming schools. Unfortunately,
funding levels are not adequate to allow these programs to serve all eligible
students and schools. For example, Title I only provides services to about
one-third of those who are eligible. To provide services to all would cost a
total of $24 billion. The Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) is another essential program that
far from meeting its full need. IDEA would need at least $12-14 billion to
provide the 40% federal government share that was originally promised. Sadly, we
could provide many other examples of the underfunding of federal education
programs. In addition, schools are facing enormous new challenges in carrying
out their mission: Record high enrollments Increased percentage of children with
special needs Rapidly changing education technology demands An anticipated
teacher shortage A price tag exceeding $200 billion to repair and modernize our
schools Extensive need for school- based before and after school care The fact
is, the problems schools face will not disappear without federal assistance.
Without a substantial infusion of funds- continued over a sustained period of
time-our nation s capacity to provide high quality educational services to all
children will be irreparably harmed. Here are a few examples of federal
initiatives that would result in real school improvement and increase student
achievement: The Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Program This is an
initiative which provides grants to schools that have identified what is
necessary to improve education for the children they serve. Parents, teachers
and others in the local community design and agree to implement research-based
reforms that have been proven to work in other schools. Unfortunately, the
program is not adequately funded. Class Size Reduction Research has demonstrated
that reduced class size is a critical factor in helping students achieve. In
fact, Professor Alex Molnar from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, found
that reduced class size, not vouchers, hold the greatest promise for improving
student academic success. Schools and communities may know this is true, but do
not have the financial resources to hire more teachers. Because it is of federal
interest that all children have the opportunity to succeed, Congress should
provide supplemental funds to schools that have identified this need. School
Construction and Modernization Bonds Children cannot learn in buildings that are
unsafe or dilapidated. The estimated cost of repairing and modernizing school
facilities is staggering - more than $200 billion - and cannot be absorbed by
local communities. Congress must address this problem if schools are to succeed.
Pending tax credit proposals could turn a federal investment of $3 billion into
$25 billion in local bonds for school construction. 21st Century Community
Learning Centers Millions of children have no place to go after school and would
benefit academically and socially by participating in quality school-based
before- and after-school programs. Unfortunately, there is a severe shortage of
these programs, and schools again cannot afford to resolve this shortage without
help. The federal government s commitment to 21st Century Community Learning
Centers must be increased. Parent Involvement Parent involvement is often cited
as an essential element in school reform. National PTA is promoting the PARENT
Act, which stands for Parental Accountability, Recruitment, and Education
National Training. The bills have been introduced in the House and Senate as
H.R. 2801 and S. 1556. The PARENT Act focuses on strengthening the connection
between parents and schools by providing states and schools with federal
leadership, information on research and model programs, and technical assistance
needed to plan and implement effective parent involvement programs. The PARENT
Act would strengthen parent involvement by ensuring that teachers are taught how
to work well with parents, technology programs are expanded to connect teachers
and schools with parents, and parents are involved in planning how federal funds
are used in local programs. The PARENT Act is not a one- size-fits-all federal
program, but rather a sensible outline that will lead to improved student
achievement. Polls indicate tremendous support for increased parental
involvement and a willingness on taxpayers behalf to invest federal dollars
towards this effort. We encourage members of this committee to co-sponsor this
important legislation. To summarize, Congress should not divert public funds to
private schools, but instead should address the immediate needs of schools, such
as investing in more comprehensive school reforms, reducing class size,
modernizing schools, expanding before- and after-school learning opportunities
and increasing parental involvement. Federal resources provide the foundation
schools need for improvement. They also help expand opportunities for students
in schools and communities with limited resources. Children are only 25 percent
of the present, but 100 percent of the future. America s tomorrow depends on
quality public schools today. Thank you for this opportunity to present our
views today. I look forward to the National PTA and your staff working together
in the coming year.
LOAD-DATE: September 28, 1999
