Success and Opportunity Through Quality Charter Schols Act

Floor Speech

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The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Oregon.

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of an amendment to H.R. 10, but I want to start by thanking Chairman Kline and Ranking Member Miller for collaborating on this bipartisan legislation.

I also want to thank my colleagues today who have offered amendments that will further strengthen the transparency and oversight of charter schools.

We have heard a lot of remarks about charter schools expanding opportunity for students and transforming education in cities and towns across the country. But we need to remember that charter schools enroll about 5 percent of public school students.

Charter schools are not the only schools leading in innovation. When I am in my district in Oregon visiting schools, I am always impressed by the great things that they are doing.

I visited a public middle school in Forest Grove, Oregon, recently, where every student has a tablet, and the educators are trained in the technology to improve instruction and track students' understanding in real time.

I have visited a public elementary school in Hillsboro, Oregon, that created a school-wide STEM curriculum that integrates the arts and creative exploration, where the students are engaged.

And just recently, Lincoln High School, a traditional public high school from Portland, Oregon, won the national ``We the People'' competition here in Washington, D.C., by displaying their phenomenal knowledge of the U.S. Constitution.

So I am a strong supporter of traditional schools. Sometimes they are the community center in the town, the place where generations of family members have gone.

Mr. Chairman, I am going to support this bill today--and we will pass it--but Congress needs to redouble our focus on the other 95 percent of the students in traditional public schools who need relief from the punitive provisions of No Child Left Behind. I hope, Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member Miller, that we can come back and find a bipartisan ESEA reauthorization.

My amendment today recognizes that charter schools are meant to also benefit traditional public schools. One way the charter schools support traditional schools is by sharing practices that are evidence-driven and replicable.

H.R. 10 asks the State entities overseeing charter schools to disseminate best practices from charter schools to traditional public schools. The bill already asks States to report on these efforts. But H.R. 10 does not ask States to measure if the sharing of best practices is benefiting traditional public schools.

There are some positive examples of traditional schools and charter schools collaborating to create curricula or rethink instruction, and the Department of Education and some States are capturing this work. But we should also be focused on the sharing of best practices. And we should be especially focused on what we are getting out of it.

My amendment has States include in their reports on charter school programs the extent to which best practices in instruction and professional development and curricular programs are being adopted and implemented by traditional public schools.

Remember, we spend taxpayer money on charter schools, and we grant them autonomy and flexibility in exchange for them testing new models of teaching and learning. The goal has been for these educational laboratories to benefit other students in traditional schools as well.

My amendment emphasizes the original intent of charter schools. It simply asks the States to consider whether best practices are transferable and adoptable. Are the efforts to share best practices benefiting educators and the millions of students in traditional public schools?

The amendment is a small measure. It doesn't create a new requirement for States. The report is already required. But it is an important reminder that innovation in charter schools can also benefit all students as well.

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Will the gentlewoman yield?

Ms. BONAMICI. I yield to the gentleman from California.

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Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Chairman, this does improve the bill. Collaboration between charter schools and traditional schools is a good thing. Sharing of practices will be beneficial.

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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