“Secretary Duncan is committed to ensuring all children, in every single school in this country, is safe and protected,” said Miller, who is working to develop legislation that would address seclusion and restraint in U.S. schools. “We need to do everything we can to protect schoolchildren from abusive, torturous, and – in some cases – deadly uses of seclusion and restraint and to stop these horrific abuses from going unchecked."

Unlike in hospitals, other health care facilities and non-medical community-based facilities that receive federal funding, there are currently no federal laws that restrict the use of seclusion and restraint in public or private schools. State regulation and oversight varies greatly. Nineteen states have no laws governing the appropriate use of seclusion or restraint in schools.

“Today’s vote is a vote to put students before banks and to finally ensure that our nation’s financial aid programs operate as intended – in the best interests of students, families and taxpayers,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the Chairman of the Committee and the author of the bill. “This landmark legislation will help write the next great education legacy for our country. President Obama has rightly called for us to make historic investments to make college more affordable, to empower community colleges to help rebuild our economy, and to prepare our youngest learners to arrive at kindergarten ready to succeed. I hope this Congress will join our Committee in standing with him on the right side of history.”

“This bill goes a long way towards expanding the accessibility and affordability of a college education for students across America” said U.S. Rep. Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness. “The bill will streamline the financial aid application process and increase funding for Pell Grants and Minority Serving Institutions, while also helping lower our national deficit.  This bill accomplishes something we can all be proud of.”

Similar to what President Obama proposed in his FY 2010 budget, the bill will originate all new federal student loans through the Direct Loan program starting in 2010, instead of through lenders subsidized by taxpayers in the federally-guaranteed student loan program. Unlike the lender-based program, the Direct Loan program is entirely insulated from market swings and can therefore guarantee students access to affordable college loans, at the same low interest rates, terms and conditions, no matter what happens in the economy.

The legislation will ensure that all federal student loan borrowers receive the best possible customer service when repaying their loans by forging a new public-private partnership that allows private lenders to compete for contracts to service loans. Additionally, it will ensure that non-profit lenders have the opportunity to continue servicing loans – preserving a role for lenders and maintaining jobs in communities throughout the country.

According to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, the legislation will generate $87 billion in savings over the next 10 years. The legislation would invest those savings directly in students and families by:

• Investing $40 billion to increase the maximum annual Pell Grant scholarship to $5,550 in 2010 and to $6,900 by 2019. Starting in 2010, the scholarship will be linked to match rising costs-of-living by indexing it to the Consumer Price Index plus 1 percentage point;
• Investing $3 billion to bolster college access and completion support programs for students;
• Strengthening the Perkins Loan program, a campus-based program that provides low-cost federal loans to students;
• Keeping interest rates low on need-based – or subsidized – federal student loans by making the interest rates on these loans variable beginning in 2012. These interest rates are currently set to jump from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent in 2012;
• Making it easier for families to apply for financial aid by simplifying the FAFSA form;
• Providing loan forgiveness for members of the military who are called up to duty in the middle of the academic year; and
• Investing $2.55 billion in Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions to provide students with the support they need to stay in school and graduate.

In addition, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act will direct $10 billion of these savings back to the U.S. Treasury to help pay down the deficit. It will invest over $4 billion for school modernization, renovation and repair projects that will help improve school buildings across the country and help the nation transition to a clean energy economy. And it will also invest $1 billion per year over eight years to help ensure that the next generation of children can enter kindergarten with the skills they need to succeed in school. Building on proposals included in President Obama’s 2010 budget, the bill establishes the Early Learning Challenge Fund, a competitive grant program that challenges states to build a comprehensive, high-quality early learning system for children from birth through age five. 

To view a summary of the legislation, click here.

The House Education and Labor Committee has been examining various proposals for student loan reform and seeking feedback from all key stakeholders over the past few months. In May, the Committee held a hearing to examine these proposals, at which the Obama administration, lenders and colleges and universities testified. For more information on that hearing, click here.

“It is good news that the achievement gap overall among black and white students is narrowing in most states. But this report also reinforces that major work must be done to address the discrepancies we are still seeing for eighth grade students. The fact that there has been no significant closing of the achievement gap in reading for eighth grade students is alarming. Research shows us that students who struggle in middle school are much more likely to drop out of high school. These students earn a million dollars less over their lifetime than high school graduates. In this economy, we simply cannot let another student face this harsh reality.

“This report offers further proof that we need to focus significantly more attention and resources on the high school dropout crisis that continues to threaten our economic strength and competitiveness. These results underscore the need to address the dropout crisis, and that means doing more on behalf of struggling students before they ever enter the doors of high school.”

Last month, the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing on the high school dropout crisis in this country. For more information about the hearing and to view witness testimony, click here.

“Schools must be safe places for all students, regardless of sexual orientation, so that they can learn without fear of being bullied or attacked,” said U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), chairwoman of the Healthy Families and Communities Subcommittee. “I am grateful for the witnesses who came today to testify about school safety, and I was especially pleased that Ms. Sirdeaner Walker could join us. She told the heartbreaking story of her 11 year old son Carl who committed suicide after being the victim of anti-gay harassment. I pledge to work with my fellow members of Congress to decrease incidents of bullying, harassment, and violence in our schools.  We need to do more to prevent school violence and we must start by finding better means of collecting and analyzing data so we can learn more about the problem and find ways to fix it once and for all.”

“As a father, a grandfather and a former teacher I believe that nothing is more important than the safety and wellbeing of our school children,” said U.S. Rep. Dale Kildee (D-MI), chairman of the Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee. “Our schools must be places where children feel secure and where their future potential can be nurtured. Violence or harassment of any kind has no place in our educational institutions and I look forward to working with my colleagues to address this serious problem.”  

“We can no longer look at bullying as just kids being kids,” said U.S. Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-CA), sponsor of the Safe School Improvement Act (H.R. 2262) and the Bullying and Gang Reduction for Improved Education Act (H.R. 1589). “When we empower schools to teach both children and adults to prevent and address bullying, we not only make schools safer, we make learning happen, and we even save lives. I hope the testimony given at today's hearing showed the desperate need to make sure that schools address bullying and harassment as part of their overall safe school strategies."

Witnesses testified about the tragic consequences of bullying and unsafe school environments. In April 2009, Carl Walker-Hoover committed suicide after being ruthlessly bullied, called “gay”, and threatened by other kids that. His mother, Sirdeaner Walker, called the school when she discovered this and was told the situation was normal and would work itself out.

“I know now that bullying is not a gay issue, or a straight issue. It’s a safety issue,” said Walker. “It’s about what kind of learning environments we want for our children and how far we’re willing to go to protect and teach them.”

Witnesses explained that a safe learning environment is a key factor in helping students achieve academically. Research shows that students who do not feel safe are less likely to have academic success and graduate.

“Does a feeling of safety help a student concentrate on schoolwork?  Some may say no, but as a student, I feel that safety is one of the most important things,” said Cassady Tetsworth, a rising high school senior and vice chair of the National Youth Advisory Board for Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE). “When a student feels safe, when tolerance overcomes bullying and harassment, and when there is respect in student-to-student, teacher-to-student, and adult-to-adult interactions, students don’t have to worry about anything but their classes.”

Other student witnesses echoed the importance of peer-to-peer programs that encourage student safety. Josie and Jackie Andrews, students who advocate for safer schools, highlighted their efforts to create curriculum and a screenplay that teach kids not to be bystanders when bullying occurs.

Witnesses also explained that schools should be held accountable for their safety efforts, just as they currently are for students’ learning. Better data and more accurate reporting on safety should be a part of any comprehensive approach to keep kids safe while at school.

“It is essential for school safety to become a priority in every school, and the best evidence-based practices need to be implemented to ensure the safety of all students,” said Dr. Scott Poland, Coordinator of the Office of Suicide and Violence Prevention and Nova Southeastern University. “This will only happen when every school board, superintendent, and state and national entity requires the same accountability for school safety that we currently require for academic performance.”

“Federal school safety policy, programs, and funding, just like that at the state and local education level, must therefore be based upon an approach and framework which is comprehensive and balanced,” said Kenneth Trump, president and CEO of National School Safety and Security Services, Inc.. “Too often, school safety advocates call for ‘more prevention’ OR ‘better security.’  The real answer should be ‘more prevention’ AND ‘better security.’  Effective approaches to school safety include prevention, security, and preparedness measures, not a curriculum-only or security-only approach.”

“Parents deserve every assurance that their children are safe when in the care of educators, regardless of whether they’re in a classroom, at recess or on a field trip,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee. “With today’s vote, the House has made it clear that every school needs to have thorough and effective policies in place to ensure that field trips provide safe, productive and exciting learning opportunities for students.”

“Every child’s life is precious so when there are reasonable steps that we can take to better protect our young people, then I believe we should take them,” said U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman (D-NJ), chief sponsor of the bill. “Having parents judge the sufficiency of school safety and security plans before giving their consent to approve any off-campus school trip for their child is highly appropriate and clearly necessary. This law also will help ensure that all involved – the schools, the chaperones, the students, and parents – know what their individual roles and responsibilities are on a trip and what will happen should tragedy strike.”

In addition, the bill encourages the U.S. Secretary of Education to provide guidance to districts to help them develop appropriate plans.

“Outstanding charter schools are proving that low-income and minority kids can achieve at the highest levels, graduate from college and thrive as adults,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the committee. “The challenge ahead will be to take the lessons learned in these schools and bring them to scale, so every child can have the same opportunity to succeed”

President Obama and Secretary Duncan are strong advocates for charter schools. In March, President Obama encouraged states to reform charter laws to lift caps while increasing the rigor of selection and promoting greater accountability.

“Improving our education system by expanding high-quality public charter schools is one of this Administration’s highest priorities,” said Jim H. Shelton, III, Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement at the U.S. Department of Education. “States must remove arbitrary caps that have limited the replication and expansion of some of our nation’s highest-performing charter schools and charter school networks.”

41 states and territories have enacted charter school laws. There are over 4600 schools today, serving 1.4 million students. Over 60 percent of the students served by charter schools are minority and over 50 percent are eligible for free and reduced lunch.

Witnesses also emphasized that being a charter school does not necessarily ensure that a school will be successful.

High performing charter schools with commitments to a rigorous curriculum with high standards, accountability, and autonomy, are able to turn around student achievement very quickly and effectively, and are often able to close the achievement gap, witnesses explained.

Dr. John King, the Managing Director with Uncommon Schools, a non-profit charter management organization, discussed the incredible successes of Roxbury Preparatory Charter School in Boston, a charter school he co-founded. Roxbury Prep has been the highest performing urban middle school in Massachusetts for five years and has closed the racial achievement gap on state exams.  Roxbury Prep and other schools in the Uncommon Schools network have similar percentages of African American, Latino, and students living in poverty than other schools in their districts.  The success of this school and others is “replicable and scalable when school leaders are given autonomy with respect to budget, staffing, curriculum and instruction, and school culture and held strictly accountable for their results,” he testified.



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“Charter schools offered a way to stimulate innovation within public education by giving educators greater autonomy in exchange for greater accountability,” said Barbara O'Brien, Lt. Governor of Colorado. “Charter schools create opportunities and open doors for kids who would otherwise be left behind. They do it by using the best of the American spirit -- entrepreneurship, innovation, and hard work. They are an asset, not a threat, to our public education system.”

Steve Barr, founder and chairman of Green Dot Public Schools -- where 80 percent of students graduate and 80 of graduates are accepted to four year colleges -- discussed the dual role of the charter schools he founded. They serve both to help provide excellent education opportunities for the students at the schools, but also to provide research and development opportunities to the district, to show what is working:

“The result of the R&D of Green Dot is clear-cut across the board—and that’s that African American kids and Latino kids can learn when they’re in a system of schools that are small, are college and work ready, the dollars get in the classroom, there’s support for our product, we’re accountable to parents and we ask parents to be involved. In that vision, we think it not only serves our ultimate stakeholders—which are the students—but also teachers.”

Barr also discussed the unique partnership Green Dot schools has formed with the teachers union.  Green Dot teachers are unionized. The union contract has “just-cause” protections instead of tenure.

“There’s ultimate accountability; job stability is not just based on seniority but also on performance,” Barr said.  “[Green Dot asks] teachers to be more involved in decision-making and [it pays] more. Our Green Dot/UFT School in New York has total alignment between the mayor, the chancellor, and the president of the teachers union.”

“I applaud the governors, chief state school officers, and all of their partners for leading the way toward a common core of fewer, clearer, and higher standards that will help close both our domestic and international student achievement gaps. We won’t be able to build the world-class education system our economy needs and our children deserve unless all students are taught to internationally-benchmarked standards that prepare them for college and good jobs and to compete in a 21st century global economy. This is an important step in the right direction, and we will to continue to examine how Congress can work with states to strengthen our competitiveness by ensuring that all U.S. students are taught to equally rigorous and high standards, no matter what zip code they live in.”

The committee recently held a hearing on creating world-class, competitive standards; for more information, click here.

“All students and teachers deserve safe and healthy learning environments, but too often, their schools are literally falling apart,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and one of the bill’s sponsors. “This legislation is a victory for students, workers and our planet. It will help improve educational opportunities and boost student achievement, it will help transition us toward a green economy by making our classrooms more environmentally-friendly, and it will get Americans back to work by creating good-paying, clean energy jobs.”

"Many of our nation’s schools are in disrepair, creating an unsafe and unhealthy classroom environment that makes it more difficult to learn,” said U.S. Rep. Dale E. Kildee (D-MI), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Secondary and Elementary Education.  “This legislation will modernize and improve our educational facilities, providing a healthier learning and working climate for our students and teachers. Not only will this benefit our local schools, but it will create good jobs in our communities while helping to clean up the environment.”

“Today was a big step in the right direction—toward investing in our children, investing in our environment, and investing in long-term economic growth,” U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler (D-KY) said. “How we educate our children today affects how our nation performs for generations to come, so it is absolutely unacceptable that some of our children are learning in schools with leaking roofs, asbestos, falling plaster, and faulty wiring.  I am so pleased that Congress stood today with Chairman Miller, Chairman Kildee, Congressman Loebsack, and me to fix our schools and secure the future of our great nation.”

“Our children deserve the best from us, and that includes all the educational advantages we can provide,” said U.S. Rep. Loebsack (D-IA). “I have been working on “greening” our schools since I have been a Member of Congress. Modernizing our school facilities keeps our students healthy and improves their academic performance. Repairing and upgrading our schools creates and saves good paying jobs while providing lasting long-term energy cost savings for taxpayers. Everything about green schools is a win-win for our taxpayers, our teachers, and most importantly, our children.”

According to recent estimates, the nation’s schools are hundreds of billions of dollars short of what it would take to bring them into good condition. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave U.S. schools a “D” on its national infrastructure report card for this year. A recent report by the American Federation of Teachers estimates it would cost almost $255 billion to fully renovate and repair all the schools in the country. Over the last eight years, the Bush administration provided almost no direct general federal funding for school improvements.

H.R. 2187 would authorize $6.4 billion for school renovation and modernization projects for fiscal year 2010, and would ensure that school districts quickly receive funds for projects that improve schools’ teaching and learning climates, health and safety, and energy efficiency.

To further encourage energy efficiency and the use of renewable resources in schools, the legislation would require a percentage of funds be used for school improvement projects that meet widely recognized green building standards. It would require that 100 percent of the funds go toward green projects by 2015 – the final year of funding under the bill.

The legislation would also create hundreds of thousands of new jobs and help improve local economies. According to calculations by the Economic Policy Institute, the legislation would support 136,000 jobs. Recent studies also show that school quality has a direct, positive impact on residential property values and can improve a community’s ability to attract businesses and workers. The legislation also applies Davis-Bacon protections to all grants for modernization and renovation projects guaranteeing fair wages and benefits for workers.

Congress recently endorsed this type of investment by enacting the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which allows school districts to use funds they receive under the state fiscal stabilization fund for school modernization, renovation and repair projects.

The legislation has received broad support including the Council of the Great City Schools, American Association of School Administrators, Rebuild America's Schools, American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association, AFL-CIO, and the U.S. Green Building Council. Congress passed H.R. 3021, similar legislation, last summer.

“The crisis we’re seeing in our nation’s high schools is real, it’s urgent, and it must be fixed,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the committee. “It’s become increasingly clear that addressing this dropout crisis is one of the most important things we can do to turn our economy around and regain our competitive footing for good. We have a moral and economic obligation to ensure that, at a minimum, every student in this country can graduate high school prepared to succeed in college or the workforce. Our intent is to address this problem in this Congress in the most comprehensive way possible.”
Nationwide, 7,000 students drop out every day and only about 70 percent of students graduate from high school with a regular high school diploma. Two thousand high schools in the U.S. produce more than half of all dropouts and a recent study suggests that in the 50 largest cities, only 53 percent of students graduate on time.  Research shows that poor and minority children attend these so-called “dropout factories” – the 2,000 schools that produce more than 50 percent of our nation’s dropouts – at significantly higher rates.

Studies also highlight the financial impact of the nation’s dropout rates. A recent report by the McKinsey Corporation showed that if minority student performance had reached white students by 1998, the GDP in 2009 would have been between $310 billion and $525 billion higher – or approximately 2 to 4 percent of GDP. The report also says the achievement gaps in this country are the same as having “a permanent national recession.

“Currently this Congress is grappling with massive economic problems. But the enormous cost of bailing out the banks, financial institutions, the auto industry, and AIG is still less than the economic cost of just five years of dropouts in the United States,” said Bob Wise, president, Alliance for Excellent Education and the former Governor of West Virginia. “That is why I believe that the ultimate economic stimulus package is a diploma.”

Cutting the dropout rate in half would yield $45 billion annually in new federal tax revenues or cost savings, according to a recent report by Columbia University’s Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education at Teachers College.



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The U.S. Department of Labor estimates 90 percent of new high-growth, high-wage jobs will require some level of postsecondary education.

Cutting the dropout rate in half would yield $45 billion annually in new federal tax revenues or cost savings, according to a recent report by Columbia University’s Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education at Teachers College.

The U.S. Department of Labor estimates 90 percent of new high-growth, high-wage jobs will require some level of postsecondary education.

“Simply put, the world has changed and there is no work for high school dropouts,” said Dr. Robert Balfanz, Ph. D, a research scientist at the Johns Hopkins University. “To meet its graduation challenge, the nation must find a solution for its dropout factories.”

Balfanz recent research findings show “it is often possible to identify as early as sixth grade up to half of the students who, absent effective interventions, will not graduate, and up to 80 percent by the ninth grade.”

Witnesses also presented data which shows African-America, Latino, American Indian and Alaska Native high school students have a far lower chance of graduating on time with a regular diploma.

“I echo the likes of Secretary Duncan and other education leaders when I say that education is the most important American civil rights issue of the 21st century,” said Michael Wotorson, executive director of the Campaign for High School Equity. “The one consistency in our education system is in our high schools that fail to provide students of color and youth from low-income neighborhoods with the high-quality education they need to succeed in college and in the modern workplace.”

Witnesses all agreed that a common core of rigorous internationally benchmarked standards will help ensure all students graduate career and college ready.

 “We do not have to live in a country where three out of 10 students do not graduate on time, and where on-time graduation for minority students is a 50-50 proposition,” said Marguerite Kondracke, President and CEO of America’s Promise Alliance. “We have solutions on the ground, and legislative proposals that will bring them to scale.”

Other witnesses called for reforms that to make schools and teachers more accountable to their students.

Scott Gordon, the CEO of Mastery Charter Schools in Philadelphia, where 47 percent of the city’s public school first graders graduate from high school, discussed strategies that help his school turn around high dropout rates and low performance.  The average scores for Mastery students increased 35 points per grade in every subject and violence decreased by 85 percent. The schools’ turnover rates dropped a third. 

He urged teachers to take more responsibility for the outcomes of their students, and urged administrators and state officials to reward teachers accordingly.

“The structure of the turnarounds required that Mastery continue operating as a neighborhood schools and enroll all of the students currently attending.  So, in many ways these turnaround schools are perfect controlled experiments on school reform,” said Gordon. “The same students, the same neighborhood, the same building – the only variable that changed was the adults.”

“For too long, students and teachers have suffered in school buildings that are literally crumbling, posing direct threats to their safety, health and learning,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the Committee. “This legislation presents us with a vital opportunity to help boost student achievement, enhance teachers’ effectiveness, and create good jobs that transition us toward a clean energy economy – all at once.”

"Many of our nation’s schools are in disrepair, creating an unsafe and unhealthy classroom environment that makes it more difficult to learn,” said U.S. Rep. Dale E. Kildee (D-MI), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Secondary and Elementary Education.  “This legislation will modernize and improve our educational facilities, providing a healthier learning and working climate for our students and teachers. Not only will this benefit our local schools, but it will create good jobs in our communities while helping to clean up the environment.”

“Everything about the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act makes sense,” said U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-IA). “By modernizing our schools to make them more energy efficient, we increase academic performance, student health, teacher retention, and cost savings for our schools while creating good paying construction jobs. That’s why I have been an advocate for Green Schools since I have been a Member of Congress, and I am pleased that we are moving forward to provide our children with a world class education in a safe, environmentally friendly learning environment.

For years, schools have been hundreds of billions of dollars short of what it would take to bring them into good condition, in part because the Bush administration provided almost no direct federal funding for school improvements over the last eight years.  In 2009, the American Civil Society of Engineers gave U.S. schools a “D” on its national infrastructure report card. According to a recent report by the American Federation of Teachers, it would cost almost $255 billion to fully renovate and repair all the schools in the country.

Congress recently endorsed this type of investment by enacting the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which allows school districts to use funds they receive under the state fiscal stabilization fund for school modernization, renovation and repair projects.

H.R. 2187 would authorize $6.4 billion for school renovation and modernization projects for fiscal year 2010, and would ensure that school districts quickly receive funds for projects that improve schools’ teaching and learning climates, health and safety, and energy efficiency.

To further encourage energy efficiency and the use of renewable resources in schools, the legislation would require a percentage of funds be used for school improvement projects that meet widely recognized green building standards. It would require that 100 percent of the funds go toward green projects by 2015 – the final year of funding under the bill.

The legislation would also create hundreds of thousands of new jobs and help improve local economies. According to calculations by the Economic Policy Institute, the legislation would support 136,000 jobs. Recent studies also show that school quality has a direct, positive impact on residential property values and can improve a community’s ability to attract businesses and workers.

Congress passed H.R. 3021, similar legislation, last summer.

“Especially in this economy, with state budgets dwindling, schools have fewer resources to make classrooms top-notch learning environments for students,” said Miller, chair of the House Education and Labor Committee. “No student should have to learn in a classroom or school that is literally falling apart. Creating world-class school facilities helps boost student achievement, enhances teachers’ effectiveness, generates savings for schools and creates good jobs for Americans desperately looking for work. This is smart public policy that will help us revive our economy, improve our schools, and protect our planet all at once.”

“Many of our nation’s schools are in disrepair, creating an unsafe and unhealthy classroom environment that makes it more difficult to learn.  This legislation will modernize and improve our educational facilities, providing a healthier learning and working climate for our students and teachers. Not only will this benefit our local schools, but it will create good jobs in our communities while helping to clean up the environment,” said Kildee

“Our country will rise and fall based on how we educate our children,” Chandler said, “and safe, healthy, and functional learning environments are the very basics of a good education. Numerous government studies have shown that our nation’s schools are in an alarming state of disrepair. Since introducing this bill in 2007, Chairman Miller, Chairman Kildee, Congressman Loebsack and I have been working to make this issue a national priority, and reintroducing the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act today is another big step in the right direction. ”

“The environment in which our students learn and educators teach can have an immense impact on the quality of education our children receive,” said Loebsack.  “According to the Government Accountability Office, 79% of Iowa schools need to repair or upgrade their buildings and facilities. Our students deserve more from us. By making investments to repair and modernize our schools we will not only be providing improved learning environments for our students, but we will also be able to create new jobs, spur local investment, and create long term cost savings for schools.”

Recent estimates underscore the extreme funding shortfalls facing schools in need of improvement. It would cost approximately $254.6 billion to address the school infrastructure need across the fifty states, according to a report from December of 2008 by the American Federation of Teachers.  

The construction industry is also facing urgent needs. According to U.S. Department of Labor estimates, the construction industry lost 126,000 jobs in March. Overall, the construction field has shed 1.3 million jobs since January 2007 – almost half of which were lost in the last five months.

President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included a $53.6 billion State Fiscal Stabilization Fund primarily to backfill budget cuts and help stave off teacher layoffs. School districts can also use this fund to improve school facilities, among other uses. H.R. 2187 will build on this effort, so that all school districts can access funds to make much-needed facility improvements.

H.R. 2187 would authorize $6.4 billion for school renovation and modernization projects for fiscal year 2010, and would ensure that school districts quickly receive funds for projects that improve schools’ teaching and learning climates, health and safety, and energy efficiency. To further encourage energy-efficiency in schools, the bill would require that the majority of funds for school improvement projects meet widely recognized green building standards and would encourage states to help schools track their energy use and carbon footprints, among other things. In the final year of funding, the bill would require 100 percent to be used for these types of projects.

In the Gulf Coast, where public schools still face hundreds of millions of dollars in damages caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the legislation would authorize separate funds – $600 million dollars over six years – for schools still trying to recover.

In addition, the legislation would ensure fair wages and benefits for construction workers by applying Davis-Bacon protections to all grants awarded for school improvement projects.  

“With standards varying vastly from state to state, a high school diploma no longer guarantees that students are proficient enough to succeed in college or a career or to compete with their international peers,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the committee. “It’s become increasingly clear that a rigorous, common core of standards is essential to help teachers teach and students learn. It’s critical to our goal of building world class schools that prepare all Americans to compete in 21st century jobs and our global economy.”

“We know that rigorous academic standards are necessary to prepare today’s students to succeed in tomorrow’s competitive world. And we also know that the federal government is ill-equipped – and ill-suited – to make decisions about what and how our children should learn,” said U.S. Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), the panel’s top Republican. “Today’s hearing was a clarion call for state and local leadership in the area of high standards, and common benchmarks, to improve student academic achievement. We know what needs to be done, and I’m pleased to see that states are stepping up to the challenge.”


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Over the past 40 years, America has fallen from first in the world to 18th in the number of students graduating from high school and our share of the world’s college graduates has dropped from 30 percent to 15 percent. On the 2006 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) test, the U.S. ranks near the bottom of all industrialized countries in math, science and problem solving.

Witnesses testified the current system encourages states to lower their standards instead of raising them. As a result, a lack of comparability is undermining both students and America’s competitiveness abroad.

“Common state academic standards will strengthen U.S. competitiveness and individual success,” said Greg Jones, the chair of the California Business for Excellence in Education. “If standards are watered down, or individual states refuse to join the common state standards effort, we will not succeed in creating the globally competitive workforce of tomorrow.”

In Mississippi, for example, 89 percent of students are reading at or above proficiency on state assessments, while only 18 percent are proficient based on the National Association Educational Progress (NAEP).

Witnesses also urged the federal government not to interfere with state-led efforts to develop common standards, but rather to encourage such efforts through incentives and better support. They argued that the leadership must continue to come from states.

“States must lead this effort for the good of our young people and for the good of our country,” said Dr. Ken James, Commissioner of Education in Arkansas and the president of the Council of Chief State School Officers. “Rather, the purpose of the common state standards initiative is to raise the bar for all states by drawing on the best research and evidence from leading states and experts regarding, among other things, college-and work-readiness, rigorous knowledge and skills, and international benchmarking.”

Witnesses pointed to a “Race to the Top Fund” included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which allows the Secretary of Education to reward states that are using innovative approaches to raise student achievement, as a good starting point. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has said he is considering using the $5 billion fund to help develop higher standards, among other things.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said many of the challenges teachers face in the classroom could be addressed by a common core of standards.

“Developing a new system of standards at first blush seems like a daunting task but it must be done,” Weingarten said. “The ‘Race to the Top’ program presents an historic opportunity to move toward common state standard by providing funds to get the job done. It would be the best possible use of that funding and could and should guide all future reform efforts.”

David Levn, co-founder of the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP), a charter school program whose students are performing at a much higher level than their peers, emphasized the need for standards that are grounded in research and proven effectiveness.

“We need to be careful not to replicate the vast and vague standards we see in too many states.” Levin said. “The standards should be identified based on proven evidence of what is necessary for students to know and do in order to succeed in college and in work.”

Rigorous, common standards will only be effective if they’re part of a larger, systemic approach to significantly improve the nation’s schools.

“We know that standards are critical, but aren’t sufficient on their own. Only a systemic approach will get us where we need to be,” said Governor James B. Hunt, chairman of the James. B. Hunt Institute for Educational leadership and Policy Foundation Board and the former governor of North Carolina.” Standards need to be supported by an integrated system, including curriculum, assessment, instruction, teacher preparation and professional development.”

For more information and to view witness testimony, click here.
 

 

“In light of the staggeringly high dropout rate and growing threats to our nation’s competitiveness, closing the achievement gap and building world-class schools for all students must be a top priority. Overall, this report is further proof that we must do better. While it’s good news that younger students are making meaningful gains in reading and math, it’s deeply troubling that many high school students are not. We must re-double our efforts to ensure that all students, at every age, in every state, get a world-class education that fully prepares them for college and careers. Raising the bar so that all states establish challenging, rigorous standards would be an important step toward this goal.”

This week, the Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing to examine the state-led effort to develop a common core of rigorous, internationally-benchmarked standards to help prepare our students to compete in today’s global economy. To learn more about hearing, click here.

In light of this report, U.S. Rep. George Miller, the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, announced the committee will hold a hearing on these abuses.

“These abuses are a shocking and disturbing betrayal of the trust that families and communities place in our schools. School administrators and teachers are tasked with providing not just productive and encouraging learning environments for students, but with keeping them safe. It is wholly unacceptable for children to be locked up in closets or for any staff member to use overwhelming – and in some cases deadly – force against their students.

“This report raises serious questions about the treatment of schoolchildren, the qualifications and training of staff, and what actions have been taken to address these unconscionable practices. No child should be at risk or in danger while at school, no matter what the circumstances. Our committee will hold a hearing to look at how we can address and hopefully end these horrific acts."

The report, “School is not supposed to hurt: An investigative report on abusive seclusion and restraint in schools,” provides an unprecedented look at the tactics used to isolate or restrain students. In one case, a seven-year old girl was killed in a special day program when four adult staff pinned her small body face down. The student had been blowing bubbles in her milk and would not follow directions to sit still.  In another example, a thirteen year old boy committed suicide in a locked concrete seclusion room, hanging himself with a cord provided by staff to hold up his pants, after pleading with his teachers that he could not withstand the isolation in the small room for hours at a time.

For a full copy of the report released today, click here.

Investigations conducted by the Government Accountability Office at Miller’s request have uncovered thousands of cases and allegations of child abuse at teen residential treatment programs around the country, including similar abusive uses of seclusion and restraint highlighted by today’s report. In June the House passed legislation authored by Miller and U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), to protect teens attending these programs from physical, mental and sexual abuse. For more information on the bill, the Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2008, click here.