Jack Kingston: “recently a teacher in Camden County, GA told me about going to a conference near the State capitol designed to tell…”

“recently a teacher in Camden County, GA told me about going to a conference near the State capitol designed to tell teachers not to hug kids anymore and not to be in the room alone with them anymore, never to touch them. She says, ``You know, it's too bad because in the school district that I'm in, a lot of these children are from broken homes and they need hugging more than they need A's.'' Another teacher told me she cannot get parents to participate in the PTA programs anymore because when parents come up with good ideas, they just cannot get through the red tape. Then another teacher in Darien, Georgia told me that she has to spend 2 to 3 hours each week on paperwork just to keep up with the bureaucracy. Mr. Speaker, I believe we need to have more local control of school systems. We are going to vote today on a charter school bill which will give local control and get the bureaucracy out of the classroom so that the teacher can develop the relationship that is needed to teach Johnny how to read without a bunch of busybody bureaucrats from the State capitol or Washington, DC, telling them what they have to do and what they do not have to do.”