Education

The House passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act today, by a vote of 244-188.  With teaching and other education-related jobs on the chopping block as states slash education budgets, the plan makes bold, strategic investments in education to help stave off teacher layoffs and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, among other things.

“We simply cannot let our education systems collapse as the economy collapses,” Chairman Miller said. “Together, these investments will meet the most urgent challenges we face: creating new jobs that can’t get shipped overseas, mitigating the devastation of state and local budget cuts, and most importantly – making sure that our schoolchildren and students don’t become the victims of this economic crisis. With more job layoffs coming by the day, American workers and families can’t afford to wait for this relief.”

More information on some of these key provisions:

Making College More Affordable »
Creating and Saving Jobs »
Modernizing Our Schools and Colleges »
Investing in 21st Century Education »
Investing in Excellent Teachers »
Providing Health Care Access for Laid-Off, Older, and Tenured Workers »
Estimates of Education Funding School Districts Would Receive Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act »

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act this afternoon. This measure includes critical education investments that will create or save hundreds of thousands of jobs, provide immediate relief to schools and colleges reeling from state budget cutbacks, and give workers the training and support they need to help move our economy forward.

More information on some of these key provisions:

Making College More Affordable »
Creating and Saving Jobs »
Modernizing Our Schools and Colleges »
Investing in 21st Century Education »
Investing in Excellent Teachers »
Providing Health Care Access for Laid-Off, Older, and Tenured Workers »
Estimates of Education Funding School Districts Would Receive Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act »

Building a Strong, Competitive 21st Century Economy

States now face a $91 billion shortfall in education funding – putting hundreds of thousands of jobs and the promise of a good education in jeopardy. Economists and scientists agree that strategic, targeted investments in education are needed to create jobs, give America’s children the skills they need to compete globally – and to put our economy back on the road to recovery.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides the single largest investment in federal education spending ever to help build the world class education system our economy needs and our children deserve. The plan will:

Building a Strong, Competitive 21st Century Economy

School buildings across the country are literally crumbling. Recent studies estimate that well over a hundred billion dollars is needed to bring schools into good condition, and that 75 percent of schools are in various stages of disrepair. Like other infrastructure projects, modernizing schools will create new, construction jobs while ensuring that students can learn and teachers can teach in safe, healthy, technologically up-to-date, and energy-efficient learning environments.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will put Americans back to work quickly while bringing our schools and colleges into the 21st century. The legislation will:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office to further investigate recent reports of seclusion and restraint of children in public and private schools across the country. Miller’s committee plans to hold a hearing on these practices in the coming months. 

Below is a document prepared by the Congressional Research Service which estimates the amount of education funding that each school district will receive from certain aspects of the American Recovery and Reinvestment bill.  Specifically, this document estimates what each school district in the country would receive under the bill’s program allocations (not including the $79 billion State Stabilization Fund) for Title I ($11 billion), IDEA ($13 billion), and K-12 School Modernization ($14 billion) over FYs 2009 and 2010.

These are estimates only based on available and current data and may not reflect exact allocations that school districts receive when these funds are actually allocated.

Click here to download the CRS data, which was updated on January 16, 2009 »
(PDF, 1.125MB, Prints on 11" x 17" paper)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee today congratulated Arne Duncan on his confirmation as U.S. Secretary of Education.  Duncan was among the first cabinet members of the Obama administration to be confirmed by the Senate yesterday.
 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today highlighted key provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan that will provide vital aid to children, students and workers, create jobs, and get the economy moving forward again. (Click here for school district information ») The House Appropriations Committee released full details of the legislation this morning.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today voiced his ardent support for Arne Duncan the next Secretary of Education. He urged the Senate to pursue a quick confirmation.

Chairman George Miller met with Secretary of Education nominee Arne Duncan yesterday to discuss Obama administration education priorities and the 111th Congress.

WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today praised President-Elect Barack Obama’s selection of Arne Duncan, the CEO of Chicago Public Schools, as the next Secretary of Education.

“This morning’s announcement of Arne Duncan as our next Secretary of Education is very exciting news for school reform, students and parents across America. Mr. Duncan is an experienced and accomplished leader who is open to the new, bold and innovative ideas needed to truly improve our schools."

This morning’s announcement of Arne Duncan as our next Secretary of Education is very exciting news for school reform, students and parents across America. Mr. Duncan is an experienced and accomplished leader who is open to the new, bold and innovative ideas needed to truly improve our schools.

As the head of Chicago’s public schools, he has an impressive track record in turning around failing schools, increasing graduation rates, and significantly boosting student achievement. He has dramatically improved teacher quality and effectiveness, by working with the local teachers union to establish a performance pay system and by providing mentoring and career ladders for teachers. A longtime champion of early education, he understands that we won’t be able to close the student achievement gap unless we improve educational opportunities for every child from their earliest years on.

Mr. Duncan takes the helm at a pivotal juncture for our schools and our economy. Our schools are in need of serious improvement; families continue to face a college affordability crisis; and we need to continue to strengthen our economic competitiveness. In an education landscape filled with strong – and often sharply contrasting – ideas, I believe that he will provide the leadership needed to bring diverse stakeholders together and break through the political gridlock.

This summer, Mr. Duncan told our committee of the importance of "challenging the status quo, pushing the envelope and driving change." I look forward to working with him and President-elect Obama to provide all students with a world-class education that prepares them to compete in our global economy and pursue their dreams.

Over the summer, Duncan testified before the Education and Labor Committee with mayors and superintendents of major U.S. cities on how to improve America’s schools and close the achievement gap:


For his written testimony, click here.

WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and Rush Holt (D-NJ) issued the following statement today on a new report that shows that while American students are making some strides in math achievement, students in other countries still outrank U.S. students in overall math and science performance. The study, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS),compares achievement among 4th and 8th grade students in math and science. The lawmakers said the report was the latest proof that the U.S. must re-double its commitment to improving math and science education, in part by drawing effective, qualified teachers to these subject areas.

This hearing examined whether the Department of Labor is doing enough to enforce U.S. child labor laws and will explore the impact of child labor on families.

In the past few weeks, the Committee has been hard at work pushing forward many key education measures. 

The Committee held a hearing on bipartisan legislation that would help strengthen American families and help more children arrive at school ready to succeed by expanding access to early childhood home visitation programs for parents and children.

Research shows that these programs, which provide a variety of services ranging from pre-natal medical care to school readiness and family literacy programs, can help improve student achievement, reduce child abuse rates, improve early identification of developmental delays and disabilities, and improve access to health services.