Student Success Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. BONAMICI. I thank the gentleman from New York for yielding and
for offering this important amendment.

Mr. Chairman, under No Child Left Behind, schools were punished if
all students did not reach a static proficiency target. It did not
matter how many gains students made or how close students were to
reaching proficiency. The system under No Child Left Behind was
unworkable and damaging.

This reauthorization should recognize the tremendous gains most
students make each year, and it should provide an incentive for schools
to provide differentiated instruction to all students, including those
performing above and below any proficiency benchmark. It is time to
replace the No Child Left Behind-style accountability systems that
label schools as failing, even when students make tremendous growth.

This amendment is an important step in the right direction, and I
urge my colleagues to support it.

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Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Chairman, I thank Representative Fudge for yielding
and for offering this important amendment.

Public education is primarily the responsibility of States and local
school districts. Historically, the Federal Government contributes
about 10 percent of funding to K-12 education.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act, since it was first
enacted as part of the war on poverty, has supplemented the role of
States and districts by providing targeted resources to students and
communities that have traditionally been underserved and continue to
need that additional support. This amendment is critical to preserving
that targeted role.

The receipt of Federal funds should not be used to replace the
investment of States in public education. I urge my colleagues to
support Representative Fudge's important amendment.

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Ms. BONAMICI. Thank you, Mr. Ranking Member, for yielding.

Mr. Chair, I want to thank Representative Davis and Representative
Joyce Beatty for offering this amendment. The savings clause is an
important feature of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and I
appreciate the bipartisan effort of my colleagues to reinstate it.

The Student Success Act should respect collective bargaining
agreements and memoranda of understanding that have been negotiated
across this country. I commend the Representatives for their work to
make sure that this legislation we are debating does not interfere with
local laws or agreements, and I ask my colleagues to join me in
supporting this amendment.

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