Providing for Further Consideration of H.R. 5, Student Success Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. DOGGETT. I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, 50 years ago, in the Central Texas one-room schoolhouse
where he had studied, President Lyndon B. Johnson first signed this
Federal aid to education act into law. Through its first title, this
law addresses inequality in educational opportunity. Title I has played
a vital role in helping schools so that economically disadvantaged
students can work their way into the middle class.

Today, the same reactionary forces that first opposed President
Johnson want to undermine this important civil rights law. Today's bill
is supported by the same ideologues who have opposed the very concept
of any Federal aid to education, who in the past disparaged on this
floor public schools as being ``government schools,'' and who have even
tried to abolish the Department of Education.

Well, this Student Success Act is really a ``Student Regress Act'' or
a ``How Little Can We Do in Washington Act.''

For San Antonio ISD, for Austin, and for so many other schools, this
bill means less Federal support at a time when our schools are asked to
do even more.

In States like Texas, where school inequality is severe, the State
leadership has demonstrated time and time again that Federal education
block grants only lead to blockheaded decisions. ``Block grant'' is an
apt term because it is designed to block access to achieve educational
excellence in our public schools.

Without a firm requirement in Federal law that the States cannot use
the Federal dollars to just supplant the deficient funding levels they
have, a State like Texas can and has simply used Federal education
dollars to fill its budget gaps, with irresponsible officials, like
Rick Perry, using the money for corporate tax breaks instead of helping
our schoolchildren.

So today we look at this bill and we see that, despite extensive
research on brain development, on the importance of early, quality
education for our youngest Americans, despite bipartisan support across
the country, despite the incredible return that it offers on every
dollar of public investment, early childhood education is nowhere to be found. It is missing in action in this bill.

This bill threatens protections for special education. It fails to
address the unique challenges of at-risk students. It ignores the needs
of students who need to learn English. It ends the requirement of
professional development support that encourages innovative teaching.

It is why I say that a grade of F is entirely too high for this piece
of legislation. I think a grade of X, Y, or Z might be more
appropriate. Reject it until we have a Congress committed to a
meaningful Federal role in advancing individual opportunity and
ensuring a globally competitive workforce.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source