Raúl Grijalva: “I thank the ranking member. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the underlying legislation and to the Salmon…”

“I thank the ranking member. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the underlying legislation and to the Salmon amendment. Once again, we are considering legislation that does nothing to improve equity in our public education system, assuring and ensuring that resources are focused on student populations that have been historically marginalized, primarily children of color, English language learners, children with disabilities, and poor kids. The lessons from No Child Left Behind are plentiful, some good that need improvement and some that need to be eliminated from a reauthorization. This amendment, along with the underlying legislation, continues to dismantle and remove the ESEA's significant mission, to deal with the issue of poverty in this country, marginalized communities, and kids who are not achieving. Mr. Chairman, I ask my colleagues to oppose H.R. 5 and this amendment. The current bill fails to provide all of our communities with equitable educations. Portability eliminates a maintenance of effort, block grants don't address charter school accountability, and it eliminates provisions to protect English learners in this country. With this amendment, we eliminate the Nation's responsibility to be accountable and to ensure that all children get an education. I am astounded by the historical amnesia that goes on when we have these discussions. The ESEA was formed for a purpose: to improve and to create equity and opportunity for children who didn't have it.…”