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Mr. Chairman and Distinguished Members of the Committee:
I am pleased to appear before you today to discuss the Administration?s education proposals.
The year is 1997. The issue is education. As we approach the 21st century, nothing should be more important to us as a nation than the actions we take now to help our young people prepare for the future.
Our dialogue about education policy at the national level comes at a time when, more than ever before in our history, education is the fault line between those who will prosper in the new economy and those who will be left behind. Most of today?s good jobs require more skills and training than a high school diploma affords. Strong and effective schools and accessible postsecondary education are critically important both for individuals and for the strength of America?s economy and democracy.
We face an unique opportunity though. If ever there was a time to push American education to a higher level, it is now. Our country is prosperous and at peace. I am beginning to feel the excitement and the determination of educators, parents, and communities to expect more from their schools and from their children, and to make change happen.
Moreover, we have the attention of the American people. They have told us clearly that education is their top concern. But, they have also sent us another important message -- to help them in their efforts. Work together and do something about education. This is what the nation is saying it wants and needs.
The President?s Call to Action
That is why President Clinton in his State of the Union address said his number one priority for the next four years would be to ensure that all Americans have the best education in the world. The President followed with his 10-point ?Call to Action? -- a bold approach that is national in scope, yet local in action. From helping our children master the basics -- to improving teaching, promoting educational technology and modernizing our schools -- to helping families pay for college through increased Pell Grants and Hope Scholarships -- the President has made an unprecedented commitment to expanding the tools available to our citizens to make the most of their own lives.
Our FY98 budget includes historically high levels of investment in every area of education from pre-school to high school and college. It increases our investment in existing programs that support states and communities to raise their standards of achievement and improve their schools -- Goals 2000, Title I, Eisenhower Professional Development, Safe and Drug Free Schools. It also includes important new initiatives in reading, school construction, and higher education. I firmly believe these proposals will complement and strengthen our existing programs, not duplicate or replace them, and be critical to our success in moving our children, and the nation as a whole, into the next century.
During President Clinton?s first term, with Congressional help and involvement, we reexamined, streamlined, and significantly restructured all of our major initiatives in education in ways that directly support high standards and the efforts of states and communities to reach those standards. Now we must build on those efforts.
Today, I will discuss with you what the President and I believe this will take. Mastering the basics once and for all, quality teaching, educational technology, a school environment conducive to learning, schools with high standards of achievement and accountability, and access to at least two years of postsecondary education -- these are our priorities, which I will now address in turn.
Mastering the Basics
Our proposals begin with two simple propositions. Every child in American should be able to read well and independently by the end of 3rd grade. And, every child in America should know the basics in math and take algebra, and even some geometry, by the end of 8th grade. Students must master these basics once and for all.
Forty percent of our children are not reading as well as they should by the end of the third grade. And, this nation is below the international average when it comes to 8th grade math. That?s just not good enough in my book. All of our research tells us that reading independently by the 4th grade and having good math skills -- including algebra and some geometry -- by the 8th grade are critical turning points in the education of our young people. A child that learns to read by the fourth grade is prepared to use his or her reading skills to learn history, literature, social studies, and science in the later grades. A child that doesn't learn to read well by the fourth grade is more likely to drop out and risks a lifetime of diminished success in school and employment.
If reading well is the first basic, we also know that math is the gateway to learning many more advanced skills. In the last decade, we have made substantial progress in improving math and science education. Our most recent NAEP scores in mathematics, for example, show we are on the right track. That?s because the nation?s math teachers have developed challenging standards that are beginning to have an impact on the classroom. But, now we need to notch up our standards even higher. Only 20 percent of our young people are taking algebra by the end of the 8th grade. In the rest of the advanced world, the vast majority-- if not all -- students have studied algebra by the end of the eighth grade.
That is why the President has called for challenging, voluntary national tests in fourth- grade reading and eighth-grade math. These tests will show how well students are meeting rigorous standards and how well they compare with their peers around the country and the world. They also will help parents know if their children are mastering critical basic skills early enough to succeed in school and in the workforce.
As former governors, both the President and I firmly oppose any form of national control over schools and their curriculum. And, we have done all we can to cut Federal red tape and cut people loose. In the last four years, we have eliminated about half of all federal regulations for elementary and secondary education, while never losing sight of our constitutional obligations.
In addressing our concerns about strengthening these two basics, I hope we do not cloud our children?s future with arguments that are not really relevant about Federal government intrusion. Reading is reading. Math is math whether we are in Maine, Missouri or Montana. The tests we are proposing would not be a requirement, but an opportunity; not a national curriculum but a national challenge.
I urge you to join me in encouraging states and school districts to accept the President?s challenge to participate in these voluntary national tests. Many of our children, schools, and states may not make the grade at the beginning, but these tests will be a very serious tool for showing them where and how they need to improve.
We know, however, the tests themselves are only one part of the solution. Another critical part is good teaching. I will be talking about that in a few moments. But first I will talk about the President?s important proposal to support teachers to help children read. This is the
America Reads Challenge.
We will be proposing legislation that would help recruit and train one million volunteer tutors who would provide assistance after school, on weekends and during the summer to students who are behind in reading in pre-kindergarten through 4th grade. The bulk of the funds would go to broad-based local partnerships to develop tutoring programs that meet the needs of their students.
Because good reading begins at home, the America Reads Challenge Act also would provide Parents as First Teacher grants to support a range of effective local programs that involve and assist parents to help their children become successful readers.
The America Reads legislation will be administered jointly by the Department of Education and the Corporation for National and Community Service. Results of the America Reads Challenge will be measured by student performance on the National Assessment of Education Progress? (NAEP) 4th grade reading test. Currently, about 60 percent of children read at or above the "Basic" level by the time they are in fourth grade. The America Reads Challenge is designed to lift that percentage significantly. I also believe we will see the results of the America Reads challenge on the voluntary reading tests that states and districts will administer.
I want to emphasize here that the assistance offered through the America Reads Challenge would supplement the reading instruction provided in the regular classroom. We will continue to support schools through existing programs, such as Title I and Even Start, and the 1998 budget would increase funding for these programs.
But, we know more must be done if we as a nation are to reach our critical reading goal. The research is clear. Reading is a skill developed not only in the classroom, but also in our homes, our libraries, and our communities. Teachers and schools have the central responsibility for making literacy and the basics a top priority. Study after study, however, shows that sustained, individualized attention and tutoring after school and over the summer can raise reading levels when combined with parental involvement and high-quality in-school instruction. This initiative will make available to many more young children the supports they need to become successful readers -- actively involved parents who read to them from infancy onward, high-quality pre-school programs, and individualized attention from pre-school through 3rd grade.
Mr. Chairman. Your leadership in the area of literacy is well-known and highly respected. We designed the America Reads Challenge to complement, not compete with, existing programs. Significantly, this is the first time the President of the United States has put the full weight of the bully pulpit behind the need for improving literacy skills, a concern this Committee has long-recognized. The mere fact that the President has made this a top priority for the nation, in my mind, will make all of the difference in the world.
The American people are already beginning to respond. College presidents, for example, excited by the President?s challenge to recruit 100,000 college work-study students for the America Reads effort, are committing unprecedented numbers of college work-study students and other students to serve as reading tutors. Communities across the country are mobilizing reading tutors to help young children read well and independently by the end of third grade. The legislation we are proposing would support approximately 25,000 reading specialists and tutor coordinators who would play the critical role of helping coordinate these tutors and ensuring they have the training they need to be effective.
Helping all our children become successful readers is the most urgent task facing us in American education. If the America Reads Challenge works, as I believe it will, it will make a critical difference in the reading success and lives of millions of our nation?s children.
A Talented and Dedicated Teacher in Every Classroom
Another area of critical importance is professional development for our teachers. If teachers are to teach to high standards, their skills must be upgraded. As a nation, we must devote sustained attention to this task. But we also need to do a better job in recruiting the next generation of teachers, preparing them and supporting them in their first few critical years, and valuing them more for their work in educating our children.
Now is the time to get this right. In the next 10 years, we need to recruit two million teachers to replace a generation of teachers who are about to retire, and to keep up with record breaking student enrollments. This presents an enormous opportunity for ensuring teacher quality well into the 21st century.
Our Eisenhower Professional Development program is a critical resource for preparing our teachers to better deliver instruction in core subjects, and our FY98 budget proposes a $50 million increase over FY97 for this activity. We also are pleased by the number of states using some of their Goals 2000 funds for teacher training geared to tougher standards. The President?s proposals recognize that more can be done. For example, many of our finest educators have worked hard to establish a system of national credentials for excellence in teaching. Over five hundred master teachers have been certified by the national board since 1995. Our budget would permit 100,000 more teachers over the next 10 years to seek certification as master teachers, so we could have at least one teacher in every school in America who will have been through this rigorous training program. That teacher could then share his or her skills with every other teacher in the school, and we believe that would be an important step forward.
I also am planning to hold a national forum on teaching in mid-April, which will bring together outstanding teachers, education leaders, and members of the higher education community. They will explore ways to strengthen all phases of professional development, with a particular focus on recruiting promising people into teaching and giving them the highest quality preparation, training and support. In addition, we will support a new research and development center focused on policies to improve teaching, and a new consortium of organizations that will directly assist the field in its efforts to develop new strategies for teacher recruitment, training, licensing, and certification, among other areas. As a nation, we simply are not doing enough in these areas, and Federal programs have largely neglected them.
Connecting Students to the Information Age
The next issue is educational technology. We cannot afford to leave any child behind in this Information Age. Today, 65 percent of our schools are linked to the Internet, but only 14 percent of our classrooms are connected.
That's why the President's Educational Technology Initiative calls for connecting "every classroom and every library in the entire United States by the year 2000." The President's budget would nearly double the Department of Education spending on the two major technology programs, from $257 million in FY97 to $500 million in FY98. Most of these funds flow directly to states to support private-public sector partnerships to achieve four goals -- getting computers into every classroom, linking schools to the Internet, developing effective educational software, and helping train our teachers to be technologically literate. The remainder of the funds are used for Technology Innovation Challenge Grants, which invite school systems, colleges, universities, and private businesses to form partnerships to develop creative new ways to use technology for learning and improved instruction in the core academic subjects.
In addition, the Administration is working with the Federal Communications Commission to establish an "e-rate" or "education rate," which would guarantee a free package of basic telecommunications services to every school and library in America. In addition, discounted rates for access to other services used for "education purposes" would be established. The FCC is in the midst of a rulemaking to determine the precise levels of the discounts to schools for these services.
If we succeed in these efforts, it will mean that for the first time all of our students -- in the poorest schools, in the most isolated rural schools, and in the wealthiest schools -- will all have access to the same universe of knowledge, in the same way, at the same time. This will not only revolutionize education, but also have profound implications for our nation as a whole. I urge all of you to support the nation in this endeavor.
School Environments Conducive to Learning - Schools That Are Safe and Drug-free with Well-maintained, Up-to-date Facilities
The next point is that we must create school environments where learning can occur. Children simply cannot learn if they are surrounded by drugs and violence, in buildings that are crumbling.
To better protect our children from drugs and violence, we are asking for $620 million for the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities programs. This is an increase of $64 million or nearly 12 percent, over the FY97 level.
But as we say this, we also recognize that there is an enormous variation in the effectiveness of our drug prevention programs, and this concerns me for good reason. As we renew our commitment to these programs, we also must make them as effective as possible. We must do a better job working with schools and communities to find out what works and to create successful drug prevention programs. To further support improved student achievement and prevent juvenile violence and drug-use, the President?s budget also includes a $50 million new initiative to help rural and inner-city public schools to stay open after school hours and serve as safe neighborhood learning centers for children.
We also cannot expect our children to raise themselves up in schools that are literally falling down. And yet today, too many of our school buildings and classrooms are in shambles. According to a report of the General Accounting Office, one-third of schools need either extensive repairs or total replacement. And, we estimate that simply to keep up with booming elementary and secondary enrollment levels, communities will have to build 6,000 additional schools by 2006.
As you may know, this is not an area in which we have supported states and communities before. But with the student population at an all-time high, and record numbers of school buildings falling into disrepair, we believe this is now a serious national concern. If people at the local level are willing to put up their funds to try to repair their school buildings or build new ones, we want to be in a position to support what they're doing.
Our budget includes an important new School Construction Initiative: a one-time infusion of $5 billion to stimulate over $20 billion in school construction and renovation over the next four years. These funds would pay for up to one-half the interest costs on school construction bonds or similar financing mechanisms. Schools could obtain financing through this program to make emergency repairs, to correct health and safety problems, to make technological upgrades, to improve energy efficiency, to ensure access for individuals with disabilities, and to build new schools needed to accommodate growing enrollments. We hope our construction initiative will begin leveraging the efforts of communities to create environments in which learning to high standards is possible.
Schools with Clear Standards of Achievement and Accountability for Results
Raising standards has been the goal of the Clinton Administration since Day One. It has been our north star, and all our ships have sailed in that direction. Goals 2000 is all about high standards. Our approach to school-to-work links vocational training in the workplace to rigorous academic learning in the classroom. And, we have been eliminating the watered-down instruction that often plagues Title I and insisting on high standards for all students. We continue to strongly support the Goals 2000 program as the cornerstone of federal support for schools and communities that want to raise standards, develop assessments of student performance linked to those standards, and prepare teachers to teach to high standards. And, I am delighted that communities in all 50 states are now using Goals 2000 resources to support improvement. For FY98, we are asking for $620 million in Goals 2000 funds, an increase of one-third over the FY97 level, so we can serve an estimated 16,000 schools. Educators, too, are increasingly using our other programs, such as Title I, Eisenhower Professional Development, School-to-Work and Safe and Drug Free Schools, to improve teaching and learning and upgrade the overall quality of education in their schools.
We know, however, that despite these efforts many of our schools still are not meeting high standards of excellence. Many do not even deserve to be called schools at all. So our first order of business must be to fix failing schools.
Too often, we fall into the trap of thinking that the children who are stuck in failing schools are the problem. We accept the easy way out, the false assumption that they cannot learn because they are the wrong color, from the wrong side of the tracks, or because they speak the wrong language. Instead, we must stop making excuses and confront the all too common problem of schools that are low-achieving and even dangerous. This means being clear in our message to parents and educators -- if a school is bad and can?t be changed, reconstitute it or close it down. If a principal is slow to get the message, find strength in a new leader. If teachers are burned out, counsel them to improve and then, if necessary, offer them a fair process to leave the profession.
Moreover, as part of the President?s efforts to expand the choices available to parents, teachers and students, we are trying to make it possible for more parents and teachers to start public charter schools. For FY98, the President is asking to nearly double funding for Charter Schools to $100 million. This level would support planning and start-up costs for up to 1,100 schools that are exempted from many regulations in exchange for greater accountability for improving student achievement. The Administration's goal is to stimulate the creation of 3,000 charter schools over the next five years.
Making Expectations a Reality: Financing a College Education
Mr. Chairman. I have discussed our major priorities for elementary and secondary students and their schools. But, we cannot stop here. For college has never been more important than it is today and will be in the years to come. The President in a recent speech pointed out something quite remarkable. Between 1992 and 2000, 89 percent of the new jobs created in this economy will require post-high school levels of literacy and math skills. And, a high percentage of those jobs will pay what is now an above-average wage. But, only half the people entering the work force are even nominally prepared for these jobs. Our education system is still turning out millions of young people who simply are not equipped for the 21st Century world of work. Yet tragically, just when higher education is more important than ever, it has become harder and harder for America?s families to afford it. Between 1979 and 1993, many of our middle class families lost ground economically while college costs increased by 165 percent. It is no wonder that so many middle-income families are worried about their financial circumstances and wondering how they are going to pay for college. Moreover, in 1994, only 45 percent of high school graduates from low-income families and 58 percent from middle-income families went directly to college, compared to 77 percent from high-income families. The President and I are deeply committed to ensuring that every 18 year old who works hard, and can make the grade, has the opportunity to attend at least 2 years of college, regardless of financial circumstances. We want to make 14 years of education the standard in America. Already our commitment has taken many forms -- the creation of the direct lending program -- increases in Pell Grants -- and a growing work study program with a new emphasis on community service.
Today I will address three of our major proposals to further help middle class and needy families to send their children to college.
First, we propose the biggest increase in Pell Grants in 20 years. As this Committee has long-recognized, the Pell Grant program is the foundation of student aid for lower-income students and their families. Our budget proposal would raise the current maximum award from $2,700 to an all-time high of $3,000. This would help Pell Grants keep pace with rising postsecondary education costs while providing grant assistance to an additional 130,000 students and families. We also propose changing the need-analysis formula to provide more equitable treatment of certain independent students who were disadvantaged under current law. This would make an estimated 218,000 additional independent students eligible for Pell Grants. These two changes would provide nearly $7.8 billion in Pell Grants to four million needy students in FY98 -- and at least $40 billion over the next five years.
America?s HOPE Scholarship, modeled after a successful program in Georgia, is the second proposal -- intended to make two years of postsecondary education as universal tomorrow as a high school diploma is today for anyone who studies hard and makes the grade. HOPE would provide students who are enrolled at least half-time, and who have no prior drug-related felony convictions, a maximum $1,500 tax credit for tuition and required fees for their first year of postsecondary education, and another $1,500 for the second year for any student who stays drug-free and earns at least a B minus grade point average. This credit would put $18.6 billion in the hands of students and their parents to pay for college over the next five years. It would help 4.2 million students, in 1998 alone, to pay the equivalent of the full cost of tuition at a typical community college and encourage them to work hard and achieve excellence.
Recently I had the opportunity to talk with some college students at Georgia State who benefit from their Hope scholarship program. If my conversations with these students are any indication, expanding our commitment to help students pay for college will lead them to work harder in middle and high school and college, and aspire higher. This will have important repercussions on our K-12 schools and is exactly what President Clinton seeks to achieve in creating a national HOPE Scholarship initiative.
Our third major higher education proposal is a tax deduction for postsecondary education. We propose giving middle income Americans the option to take a tax deduction up to $5,000 for college tuition and fees, with the deduction rising to $10,000 in 1999. The deduction would benefit an estimated 8.1 million students in 1998, with families saving an estimated $17.6 billion through 2002. This tax deduction is a lifetime benefit intended to help students of all ages pay for the lifelong learning required for success in our rapidly changing, technology-based economy.
We also believe our tax initiatives will improve college completion rates, as grants do. Our data show that low- and middle-income students are less likely than higher income students to earn a bachelor?s degree within five years, and that one of the main reasons students drop out of college is lack of money. By putting more resources in the hands of students and families, we can help to increase degree attainment. In addition, many adult workers are expected to return to school on a part-time basis in order to improve their job skills and credentials. Now, some have said the President?s tax benefit plan is not needed. I disagree. For most of the Industrial Age, we used the tax code to encourage business to invest in plant and equipment. For the Information Age, we should provide tax incentives that encourage our people to invest in themselves by getting a college education. Our proposals -- when considered as part of an overall student aid plan-- represent smart tax policies for the 21st century.
Conclusion
The President, in his State of Union Address, stated that one of the greatest sources of our strength throughout the Cold War was a bipartisan foreign policy. Because our future was at stake, politics stopped at the water?s edge. With education as a critical national security issue for our future, politics now must stop at the schoolhouse door. As I have said before, we don?t educate our children as Democrats or Republicans. We educate them as Americans. I am pleased that at the end of last term, Congress joined President Clinton in support of a strong education budget. But we cannot stop there. We must commit to a bipartisan effort to advance the cause of education in our country. That is what the American people want and expect of us, and this is what they are telling us to do.
The challenges are daunting. But we also have one of the greatest opportunities that has ever been offered to any people in human history. If we seize that opportunity, if we prove that all of our children can learn and can make a contribution, we will be richly rewarded. I urge the Congress to recognize the important contributions the President?s proposals will make to our nation?s education priorities and to give them strong consideration. I am now happy to respond to any questions you may have.
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