Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express concern over the failure to fund and adequately implement the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
This bipartisan legislation attempted a comprehensive approach to reforming our schools by refocusing our national education policy on helping states and local school districts raise academic achievement for all children, while providing more funding and flexibility to states and local districts.
The legislation passed with overwhelming support because it included tough accountability requirements aimed at closing the achievement gap between students of different economic backgrounds; stronger professional development standards and training for teachers; additional resources do turn around low performing schools; allowances for an unprecedented level of flexibility for local school districts; and rewards and sanctions for States based on the academic performance of students.
Despite the bill's good intentions and tremendous support in Congress, the legislation has become largely a hollow promise to our children because of inadequate funding. The Administration's budget request this year provided only $22.7 billion for these important education efforts--$9.7 billion less than what Congress agreed was necessary.
The commitment of significant federal funding to assist local schools in meeting the new testing, achievement and training requirements was a solemn promise made to all the children of our nation. NCLB imposes strict standards on our school districts with considerable penalties if they do not comply. But how can our schools be expected to meet these new standards without adequate federal funding to meet these challenging mandates?
For this reason, I have cosponsored legislation, the Keeping Our Promises to America's Children Act of 2003, to suspend application of NCLB until the funding that was promised to our schools is actually delivered to our schools. The alternative merely sets up our schools for failure.
Implementation of this important law has also been unduly harsh. Award-winning science teachers who have excelled at teaching for decades are deemed unqualified because their bachelor's degree was in a different subject. As someone who supported passage of NCLB, I am alarmed by its poor funding and implementation.
Passing the NCLB was only one step in the lawmaking process. To enact real education reform and to implement the new education standards within NCLB, we must appropriate the full funding required, and not blind ourselves in its application. We must not shortchange our children's education.
I ask my colleagues today to reaffirm the Congress's commitment to the No Child Left Behind Act and support full funding authorized by the legislation.