On the recordNovember 16, 2015
This week is American Education Week. Today I rise to choose my bill, the Equity and Excellence in American Education Act, which will move us towards a more equitable education funding system. We can wait no longer to act, knowing we are not providing each and every child with a quality education. My legislation is a starting point to establish equity as a foundational principle of our education system, especially in funding. Each and every child deserves to have an enriched education based on equity. Equity acknowledges all children are different with different needs. Equity means supporting families and students at the beginning with quality preschool and K-5 educational strategies based on equity. Rather than saying, ``What can we do with the funding we traditionally receive?'', we instead start with the question, ``How much do we need to meet the needs of each and every child?'' and build a system which reflects that funding. This will be a challenge, but one we must take on. ____________________
