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Charlotte NC

Congresswoman Adams Opposes Efforts to Reverse 50 Years of Education Gains

February 11, 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Alma Adams (NC-12) released the following statement after opposing the Student Success Act. The House Committee on Education and the Workforce approved the bill, which reauthorizes the most current version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, No Child Left Behind.
"The Student Success Act is far from a success and will only set our students up for failure. This disappointing piece of legislation completely ignores low-performing students and lacks the accountability measures necessary to ensure their success.
"As we approach the 50th anniversary of passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act I am saddened to see efforts to take us back to 1965. This bill ignores the most obvious needs of students by removing safeguards that ensure resource equity, taking money from our neediest students and ignoring some of our most vulnerable student populations.
"I am extremely disappointed that this ill-advised legislation was approved and would have preferred the Chairman work with Democrats to bring about a bipartisan bill that truly serves the students of this country. As a new member of the Committee I felt completely left out of this rushed process and believe we owe it to the American people to have thoughtful dialogs about such overarching policies.
"I was also disappointed that my amendment to create dedicated funding streams for well-rounded education was not adopted. This commonsense amendment would have created competitive grants for programs that focus on social studies, economics, foreign language, writing and the arts. A well-rounded education is critical to move us beyond the narrow curriculums that do not adequately prepare our students.
"Although I did not support the current version of this bill, I did support the alternative offered by Ranking Member Scott, which modernized this outdated law and addressed the current needs of today's students, families, and educators. With more than 50 percent of our public school students living in poverty, this alternative made smart, targeted investments for low-income students in early childhood education, wrap-around services, and STEM education.
"Education is a civil right and when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was passed in 1965 its purpose was to ensure access to a quality education for our neediest students that are often low-income and minority. Unfortunately the Student Success Act does not support low-income and minority students.
"If I had to grade the Student Success Act I would give it an F, which is why I opposed it."
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