Calvin Dooley: “First off, I want to compliment the gentleman from Ohio (Chairman Boehner), the gentleman from California (Mr. George…”

“First off, I want to compliment the gentleman from Ohio (Chairman Boehner), the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller), the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee), and the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Roemer) for the terrific work they have done in putting together what is truly a bipartisan education reform bill. I represent a region of California, the Central Valley, which is one of the most low-income areas of the Nation, an area populated by a lot of farmworker families. It is these children that this bill has the greatest promise of helping, because it is important for us to have our schools ensuring that they are providing the academic programs that are ensuring that these students are going to have the skills that allow them to compete and win in our economy and our society today. Mr. Chairman, this legislation holds a promise, by providing for greater accountability, to really empower communities, families, students, as well as schools, to really be able to understand what they need to be doing in order to improve the programs they are providing to enrich the academic performance of their schools. What is also important for us, and that is the crux of this amendment, is that we ensure that that information that we are gathering, through this accountability process, will be easily understood by parents, teachers, as well as the community. The thrust of this legislation is really truth in accountability.”