Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) today introduced legislation to address the critical issues facing our students concerning disparities in educational opportunities. The Student Bill of Rights Act of 2007 will help states provide students with the proper educational resources for success.

"The quality of a child's education shouldn't be determined by the digits of their zip code," said Dodd. "This measure strives to correct academic inequity by ensuring that each and every child's school has the resources to provide them with a high quality education, and in turn, an equal opportunity for a successful future."

More than 50 years after the United States Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education struck down "separate and unequal" schooling; millions of American children today still do not have access to the educational resources that are critical to support their achievement. The United States, which spends less than two percent of its federal budget on elementary and secondary education, ranks last among developed countries in the difference in the quality of schools available to wealthy and low-income children.

The Student Bill of Rights Act of 2007 would help states provide highly qualified teachers and guidance counselors, challenging curricula, up-to-date textbooks and materials, and small classes to all students who attend public schools. Current law requires that schools within the same district provide comparable educational services; this bill would extend that basic protection to the state level by requiring comparability across school districts.

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