Bob Schaffer: “the real debate here should be about school choice, allowing parents to choose the school that is safe for their…”

“the real debate here should be about school choice, allowing parents to choose the school that is safe for their children. The President proposed school choice in his package No Child Left Behind, but that provision was left out of the bill. So it is incumbent upon us now to discuss the safety of the children who are left in those schools and trapped in government-owned schools throughout the country. Mr. Chairman, this dual standard that the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Norwood) has put his finger on is one that is painfully understood by every teacher in America, many parents, but it is also understood by a certain number of children. Children under the IDEA program are no more likely to be involved in discipline problems than anyone else, but the dual standard is one that does play a disproportionate role in classrooms because it sends a mixed signal in the whole context of classroom discipline. Schools should be safe. Teachers deserve to be in classroom settings where their safety is secure as well, and where their expertise is respected and honored. This amendment that the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Norwood) has proposed is a good amendment; it is one that we should adopt. It moves us in the proper direction in the context of empowering parents and teachers and making our classrooms safer.”