Student Success Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I offer a commonsense amendment to H.R. 5, the Student Success Act.

My amendment makes a minor modification to the underlying bill and does not have an impact on direct spending; still, the simple fix stands to make a tremendous difference for countless students and families on the education front.

My amendment would provide an assurance from statewide family engagement center grantees, under the ``family engagement in education programs'' portion of the bill, that they will conduct adult and financial literacy training programs in their communities as part of their efforts to engage families and improve academic outcomes for students.

So often, the national debate around education focuses on children in school, but estimates suggest there are 30 million adults in the United States who have trouble with basic literacy. This means, not only do they struggle in their own lives when reading a menu or paying the bills, but they are also unable to help their children with the most basic homework exercises. Parents who struggle to read are often incapable of comprehending report cards and academic progress reports, and their struggle with literacy can have multigenerational consequences as these parents are unable to provide early academic guidance at home that is critical to early learning success.

Like reading literacy, financial literacy is a critical component to comprehensive education, and communities stand to gain from the existence of more local programs devoted to teaching money management skills to parents and kids.

Many teachers cite a lack of time, a lack of State curriculum requirements, and a lack of demand as the top challenges to teaching financial literacy. American students today often find themselves in situations in which they are making more spending decisions and accumulating more debt at a time when debt pressures are impacting student performance and resulting in students dropping out of school.

As the family engagement centers supported by this bill aim to improve educational outcomes for families across the spectrum, they must realize that bolstering reading and financial literacy is a critical comprehensive family engagement in education strategy.

Our national security, economic prosperity, and global standing depend on America's ability to secure its educational and financial future. When schools succeed, America succeeds, and when communities and families are invested in education, students thrive.

I ask for bipartisan support of this commonsense amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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