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September 12, 1995
Washington, D.C.
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:
I appreciate this opportunity to testify in support of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. This hearing is taking place at a critical time, because education is more important to the Nation than ever before, and because we are starting to show important progress in education achievement and performance. SAT scores are up. Students are taking tougher courses and, as a result, math and science scores have gone up. But we still have a long way to go. Now is the time for those of us at the Federal level to do everything we can to help move education forward in this country. Supporting the continued implementation of Goals 2000 is one very important step.
Goals 2000 provides support to States, local communities and schools to help design and implement the school improvements most needed in that particular State or community -- it is grassroots, bottom-up reform.
Goals 2000 creates a partnership between the Federal Government and States and communities working to improve their schools. Goals 2000 asks States to (1) set challenging academic standards; (2) develop their own comprehensive education reforms; and (3) do this with broad-based grass roots parental involvement. In return, the Federal Government provides funds and flexibility. Ninety percent of the dollars that this Subcommittee appropriates for Goals 2000 flows to local school districts and schools.
The Department has issued no regulations for Goals 2000. Under Goals 2000, States can receive waivers from other Federal laws if these regulations are limiting a State or local community's own approach to improving their schools. In addition, the historic "Ed-Flex" Demonstration Program gives six States the power to waive certain federal education regulations themselves. Oregon and Kansas have already been given this authority. We are fully committed to reducing federal education regulations. That is why one-third of all Federal education regulations that were on the books when I was sworn in no longer exist.
Forty-seven States are participating in Goals 2000 and have received their first-year grants. In addition, 24 States have received their second year funds already.
The response to Goals 2000 has been enthusiastic, and States have found Goals 2000 to be a "user-friendly" program, both because of the flexibility and our streamlined application process. Local interest in participating in Goals 2000 is also very strong. Initial evidence is that local applications for State Goals 2000 funds have exceeded available funds by between 200 and 600 percent, depending on the State.
I want to give you a few examples of how Goals 2000 funds are supporting school improvement:
For fiscal year 1996, President Clinton has proposed to expand this partnership by providing $750 million for Goals 2000. This level of funding could help as many as 17,000 schools. The House did not provide any FY 1996 funding for Goals 2000. I believe the House action, unless reversed by the Senate, threatens to deal a tremendous setback to education reform in America, one from which we might not recover for a good many years.
Unfortunately the current debate over Goals 2000 rests largely on misconceptions about what the program actually does. The attacks on Goals 2000 are one part myth, one part misinformation and one part the politics of pandering. At the extreme, as The Wall Street Journal recently pointed out in a front page story, Goals 2000 is depicted as a United Nations cabal, mind control, and even a plot to take guns out of the homes of gun owners. All this is a little much. Here we are in the middle of an extraordinary era of new knowledge and information, and public leaders -- who should know better -- are listening to people who would lead us backwards.
Whatever the source, the false assertions are easily refuted. Perhaps the most common statement is that Goals 2000 will lead to a Federal takeover of local education. As a former Governor of South Carolina, I am very sensitive to concerns about Federal intrusion in local affairs, and I am a strong believer in the long American tradition of local control of education. I would not have supported Goals 2000 if I thought it remotely threatened to undermine that tradition. You don't have to take my word on that, however. Just look at the statute itself. Section 318 makes it absolutely clear that there are no mandates, and there will be no Federal takeover; and Section 319 specifically reaffirms that control of education is reserved to States and local school systems. Clearly, those who warn of a Federal takeover are raising fears without a shred of justification.
Successful education reform requires a sustained, long-term commitment. With Goals 2000, we are out of the blocks and rounding the first turn, and we cannot afford to sacrifice the momentum achieved by nearly all the States and hundreds of communities. Senator Jeffords doubtless was referring to this momentum when he recently wrote: "We have no time to wait and argue about the politics of implementing higher standards in education. . . we must keep moving forward."
The American public knows how important education is to the Nation -- as does the business community. I would like to submit for the record a letter from the Business Coalition for Education Reform (made up of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable, the National Association of Manufacturers and nine other business groups.)
Last Wednesday the President and I met with eight Chief Executive Officers representing some of the largest companies in America. The business community wants a well prepared and productive workforce, and Goals 2000 is helping to address this challenge. Lou Gerstner, IBM's CEO, later told reporters, "If we lose Goals 2000, it would be an incredibly negative setback for this country."
Your Subcommittee's action will send an important message to the American people: Are you for or against raising standards of achievement for the Nation?
I will be happy to answer any questions you might have.
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