Thank you for inviting me here today. I always enjoy speaking to your group. I also want to thank you all for your service to our community. Your commitment is absolutely critical to ensuring our kids get the best education possible.

As someone who has worked in our local public schools for over 20 years, put my kids through school and have school-aged grandchildren, I know how important education is. And I don’t need to tell you that we are at a critical point for our education system. We must make significant investments for our future generations, instead of continuing to undercut public education.

When the No Child Left Behind Act was passed there was a new hope for public education. It was the biggest overhaul our public school system had seen in decades. It was supposed to be a great compromise.

The President made a pledge that the Federal Government would fully fund NCLB. This included providing state and local education with the means to meet the new requirements of NCLB. In exchange, there would be new reporting requirements, standards and accountability. But as soon as this legislation was passed the deal was broken.

The Administration went forward with the new burdens for teachers and schools, but did not follow through with the funding. Sadly, the President continues to break this pledge and block adequate funding. This is completely unacceptable. As we have seen, this is no way to improve education in our country.

But we also know that simply increasing funding is not the answer. Instead, we now have a wonderful opportunity.  Over the past 6 years, we’ve had a chance to see how the law has or has not worked.

And now, through the reauthorization of NCLB, we have the opportunity to make the changes necessary to help our public schools be successful. Although this task is certainly not an easy one, I believe we now have the chance to ensure the Federal Government is once again a partner in education.  

First, we need to figure out how we can best meet the needs of all students, including special education and English learners. We have to figure out better ways to assess students’ progress and highlight their achievements and growth instead of focusing on their shortcomings. Because, unfortunately, at the rate we are going with our current system of assessment, we’re setting everyone up for failure.

I understand that this year an estimated 15% of our schools nationwide will be deemed “failing” and eventually all schools could all be “failing”. This is not good policy. And that is why we must seize this opportunity to reevaluate our standards and accountability process.

Instead of measuring success through snapshots, we need to look at growth and improvement over time. We have already seen, right here in California, that these types of measures can be effective. That is why, throughout this process, I want to continue to work with you to figure out what is working and where we need to make changes.

The federal government must provide the resources and support for state and local education. But the real decisions about our schools need to be made at the local level with parents, teachers, school administrators, and members of the community working together.

I believe you are our best resource to figuring out what is really working for our students. I also believe we must take a comprehensive approach at improving education for every student.

This is why I’m pleased to announce that this year we passed the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act. This bill authorizes more funding and offers greater flexibility to serve more children. It also expands Migrant and Seasonal Head Start and Early Head Start to reach as many children as possible. I am particularly proud of this expansion because so much of education is focused on closing achievement gaps and I believe Head Start is one of the best tools to do that.

I am also pleased to announce that this year the House has taken big steps to encourage more students to pursue jobs in teaching. This fall, Congress passed the largest increase in student aid since the 1944 G.I. Bill. The College Cost Reduction and Access Act will boost financial aid by more than $20 billion over the next 5 years.

This bill couldn’t have come at a better time for America’s low-income and middle-class families. Tuition and fees at four-year public colleges and universities have risen 41 percent – after inflation – since 2001. Students today graduate with greater and greater debt. This not only hamstrings them but also makes it hard for occupations that need highly skilled graduates but don’t offer the highest salaries, such as teaching.

As I’m sure some of you know, nearly 32% of graduates pursuing teaching careers can’t afford to repay their student loans on a starting teachers salary. As we know, if new graduates can’t afford to work in our schools, then everyone suffers. Fortunately, this bill seeks to remedy this very problem.

In addition to increasing Pell Grants and cutting student loan interest rates, this bill specifically offers incentives to students pursing teaching careers. The bill includes tuition assistance of $4,000 per year – up to $16,000 – for undergraduate students who commit to teaching in public schools in high-poverty communities or high-need areas.

The new law also provides loan forgiveness after 10 years of public service for military service members, first responders, law enforcement officers, nurses, librarians, early childhood educators and others. So while I believe there is still much to be done in education, I am proud to report that the new Congress is taking some very important steps.

You can rest assured I will be working with my colleagues in Congress to make sure that we continue to provide every child with the best education possible.  Again, thank you for inviting me here today. It is always a pleasure – and a privilege – to spend time with you.  I will now be happy to answer your questions.

Pictured above: (center) Congresswoman Capps meets with Central Coast firefighters to discuss emergency preparedness.