(As Prepared for Delivery)
I’m honored to be here with all of you, and I’m grateful for the opportunity todiscuss some of the significant legislation we’ve been working on in the Senate. For over35 years, the Congressional Black Caucus has fought hard and well, for the interests ofmillions of African Americans – and for the greater good of all Americans. You’ve trulylived up to your reputation as “the conscience of the Congress.” The CBC’s agenda forthe current Congress includes many major issues, but few, if any, are more critical thaneducation.
In many ways, it’s the defining civil rights issue of our time. On Tuesday, the nationcelebrated the 50th anniversary of the court order requiring desegregation of Little RockCentral High School. We all know there’s been great progress since then. But it’s anational scandal that half a century later, we still don’t have equal education.The struggle for equal educational opportunity is at the heart of our march ofprogress, because education creates so much opportunity in all areas of American societytoday. It is a powerful force for increasing economic opportunity, combating residentialsegregation, increasing civic engagement, and fully including all our people into thefabric of American life.
When Robert Kennedy served as Attorney General, school desegregation was oneof his highest priorities, because he understood so well that justice delayed is justicedenied, and it’s still being denied.
You and I know that civil rights is still the unfinished business of America.Formal integration alone is not enough to create equal educational opportunity. Thetroubling reports of racial violence and discriminatory discipline in Jena, Louisiana, arean appalling current example. But integration has been incomplete in less dramatic waysas well. Too often, for example, the tracking of students in advanced courses hasreflected racial stereotypes and led to racial divisions. There is still a troubling gap in testscores of African Americans and other minorities.Today, we’re faced with many challenges, and we need stronger action oneducation to meet them.
After years of missed opportunities by a Republican Administration andCongress, our new Democratic Congress has made strengthening education a genuinepriority.
Both the Senate and the House have passed bills to reauthorize Head Start, andwe’re working on getting it out of Conference soon. It’s a national tragedy that after allthese years, only half of all eligible children actually receive Head Start services today.We need to do more to increase enrollment and improve the quality of the programs. It’sthe best way to ensure that needy students arrive at school ready to learn.
In another positive action, we passed and the President signed the America COMPETESAct, which strengthens education in critical fields such as math, science, engineering, andforeign languages. The bill makes a new commitment to fund scientific research and willhelp ensure that our nation continues to be competitive in this new century.
Earlier today, President Bush signed a bill that strongly renews our commitmentto higher education. It provides $20 billion in student aid – the biggest increase in suchaid since the GI Bill. It raises the maximum Pell Grant from $4,300 to $5,400 – whichmeans that needy students can receive $1,100 more than they currently do.We all know how important Pell Grants are in helping African-American studentsattend college. In 2004, nearly 47 percent of all African-American college studentsreceived a Pell Grant – more than any other group -- and the new law means that thesestudents’ financial lifeline to college is even stronger.
The heart of the law is opportunity. It makes it easier to attend college byoffering more aid, simplifying the financial aid process, and supporting states in theiroutreach to inform students about the importance of higher education.It also increases opportunities after college. It reduces the interest rate on federalstudent loans. It caps loan payments at 15 percent of monthly income. And it forgivesloans entirely for those who enter careers in public service.
It’s outrageous that so many college graduates are so oppressed by heavy loandebt on their college loans that they have to give up the careers they wanted. As theNellie Mae Foundation reported in 2003, African-American students are the most likelyto be overwhelmed by their student loans. Sixty percent of African-American studentsreported that they felt overburdened by their education loans. Forty percent reportedmore hardship than they anticipated in making their loan payments. And 22 percentreported making different career choices because of their heavy debt burden.
The new law promises college graduates that if they dedicate ten years to a publicservice field, their student loans will be forgiven. It’s an incentive for students to choosecareers such as public school teachers -- law enforcement and emergency managementprofessionals -- social workers and librarians -- prosecutors and public defenders -- publichealth doctors and nurses -- child care workers -- employees in non-profit groups, andmany more.
The law provides an additional $510 million for minority-serving institutions. Itstrengthens our commitment to students at Historically Black Colleges and Universitiesby providing an additional $170 million for laboratory equipment, teaching materials, andteacher education programs. It encourages these schools to invest more in careerpreparation programs, such as language instruction and information technology.
Today, we have 105 Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the nation –five percent of our colleges and universities. Yet these institutions award almost 30percent of all college degrees obtained by African Americans and in some areas ofscience, math, and engineering, they account for more than half of all such degrees forAfrican Americans. H-B-C-U’s are also responsible for a large number of graduate andprofessional degrees earned by African Americans.
The law also provides $30 million in grant aid to an important new category ofcolleges – Predominantly Black Institutions. Many institutions of higher education havebeen ineligible for federal funds because they are not Historically Black Colleges andUniversities established before the cut-off date of 1965. At least 75 more institutions,serving 265,000 students, will be eligible under this broader definition, and about 50percent of their students are low-income or first generation college students.
The law also provides more than $200 million to expand Upward Bound, whichhelps thousands of talented minority students prepare for college and succeed in college.It restores funding to almost 120 high-quality, existing Upward Bound programs thatweren’t initially funded this year by the Department of Education. It will also funddozens of new Upward Bound programs in communities across America.
As you know, Upward Bound is one of the last remaining Great Societyprograms, and its results have been impressive:• Nearly 90 percent of Upward Bound participants graduate from high school,compared to 68 percent of low-income students nationwide.• Almost 70 percent of Upward Bound students attend college, compared to just 22percent of all low-income students.• Upward Bound students are four times more likely to obtain a college degree thanstudents from similar backgrounds who did not participate in the program.Upward Bound means that, students can dream larger dreams, and open doors thathad been locked before. I’m so proud we were able to increase funding for this vitalprogram, and I particularly commend Bobby Scott and all the members of the C-B-C whoworked so hard to make that happen.
Finally, the law provides new opportunities for students and families to developgreater financial literacy skills, which is so important for first-generation collegestudents. We’ve provided $130 million to establish a College Access Partnership Grantprogram. State agencies will partner with non-profit organizations to support newoutreach activities for at-risk students, help students and families file the federal financialaid form, and provide professional development for high school guidance counselors andcollege financial aid administrators.
The new law renews our commitment that every student who works hard andwants to earn a college degree will be able to do so. 400,000 students today don’t attenda 4-year college because they can’t afford to. The law is a large down payment to closethat unacceptable gap.
Through these changes, we’ll create a true continuum of education that will notonly help more students enter and succeed in college, but also succeed in the workforceand achieve the American Dream.
But there is much more that remains to be done. To truly create this continuum,we also need a renewed commitment to strengthening K-12 education.When the No Child Left Behind Act became law in 2002, many states werestruggling to implement standards-based reforms. Few states had high quality and fairaccountability systems in place to ensure an excellent education for every child. Onlyfour states accounted for and reported the achievement of every group of students in theirschools.
No Child Left Behind made a historic commitment that every child counts – blackor white, native-born or immigrant, disabled or non-disabled.
Today, thanks to the Act, all 50 states have standards that enable us to track theachievement of every group of students.
Every school now measures its progress in closing achievement gaps and gettingall students to meet high standards. Schools across the country are identifyingweaknesses in their instruction and documenting areas of need for their students.
Because of the No Child Left Behind Act, over 1.3 million children now have theopportunity to participate in after-school programs. 430,000 children in strugglingschools receive extra tutoring and academic support.
Since its enactment, as we know, schools have faced many challenges inimplementing it. By far, however, the most serious challenge is the lack of funding.There is now a cumulative shortfall of 56 billion dollars since the law was enacted. Thinkhow much better our schools would be today if we had sent that 56 billion dollars to themand not to Iraq.
We know that other critical challenges remain. One of the most disturbing trendsis the inequitable distribution of teachers. In high-poverty and high-minority schools,students are far more likely to have inexperienced teachers, or teachers without a major inthe subject they’re teaching.
I know you heard from my colleague on the House Education Committee, GeorgeMiller, earlier. Reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act is a high priority for both ofus, and we’ve had several hearings and meetings to learn more about the specificchallenges that schools, teachers and students are facing in the classroom each day.
We know that struggling schools need greater support. We need to do more toattract and retain high-quality teachers, especially in hard-to-staff schools.We need to improve the way we measure student progress, and provide flexibilityto local communities to determine the most effective interventions in schools that are notmaking sufficient progress.
We need to strengthen parent and community involvement in schools, to meetstudents’ social and developmental needs.
We need to strengthen state standards, and make sure they’re aligned with thedemands of our 21st century workforce.
The original Elementary and Secondary School Education Act became law in1965, but we were slow to assess its results. A year after its enactment, I remember whenmy brother, Robert Kennedy, as a Senator from New York, was questioning theadministration about the implementation of the act. He asked, “What happened to thechildren? Do you mean you spent a billion dollars -- and you don't know whether theycan read or not?”
Half a century after Brown v. Board of Education, we’re still fighting for the basicright of a good education for every child. We’re still fighting against the factors thatrelegate many of our poorest minority students to underperforming and still largelysegregated schools. There is no place for separate but equal education in America. Wecan’t afford to let housing patterns and other factors lead to high concentrations of lowincomeand minority students in certain school districts. As we act on education, wecan’t ignore the obvious fact that our battle is more difficult because of the many ways inwhich race and poverty still matter in America.
Education will be as important to the next phase of the civil rights struggle as itwas in the last. We cannot rest until we get it right. We need to put meaning into theAct’s promise —that no child will be left behind.
For this Democratic Congress, it’s a commitment we intend to keep.I commend the Congressional Black Caucus for its leadership on this and so manyother issues. Your efforts in making this nation stronger, fairer, and more inclusive areinvaluable not only for African Americans, but for all Americans. You’ve made a hugedifference, and I know you’ll keep up the great work. Thank you for all you do so well tomake America America.
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Melissa Wagoner (202) 224-2633