Congressional Tri-Caucus Statement on Senate Passage of the Every Child Achieves Act

Statement

Today, the U.S. Senate passed the Every Child Achieves Act (S.1177) to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) by a 81-17 vote. Due to the lack of substantive improvements to the underlying bill, the Congressional Tri-Caucus--which is comprised of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC)--maintains opposition to S.1177 and calls upon House and Senate leaders to make improvements as the reauthorization process moves forward. The Chairs of the Congressional Tri-Caucus issued the following statements:

Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-27), CAPAC Chair:

"The Senate had the opportunity to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) so that every child--regardless of their race, wealth, or background--has the opportunity for a quality education. While the Senate's bipartisan effort was a big step forward, I am disappointed that the needs of our students are still unmet. Subgroup accountability is not sufficiently addressed, leaving many vulnerable children to fall behind and slip through the cracks. Resources are not equitably distributed to ensure that federal dollars are going to the schools and students that need it the most. And, particularly for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students, there is no disaggregated data that would allow lawmakers and other stakeholders to uncover the progress and needs of AAPI subgroups. While the Senate bill is an improvement from our current law, more must be done. As both chambers of Congress move to conference the ESEA bills, I urge my colleagues to put politics aside and fight for our nation's children."

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