Douglas Alexander: “As you know, Hurricane Katrina had a devastating and unprecedented impact on students and schools not only in the…”

“As you know, Hurricane Katrina had a devastating and unprecedented impact on students and schools not only in the disaster areas, but across the country. There are over 45,000 displaced students enrolled in Texas schools and over 3,900 enrolled in schools in my home State of Tennessee. This is an unprecedented situation, and it requires an appropriate response for students in public and nonpublic schools. But that response must be a temporary, one-time only program to address the particular needs of this situation, and that is what this bill accomplishes. It is not intended to set a precedent for anything except another disaster in which over 370,000 school children are displaced. Katrina did not discriminate among schoolchildren, and neither should we.”