Max Cleland: “last Congress the Senate debated the reauthorization of the landmark Elementary and Secondary Education Act.…”

“last Congress the Senate debated the reauthorization of the landmark Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Unfortunately, that debate ultimately broke down over disagreement on the federal role in education and the course we should pursue to improve America's schools. That debate has now resumed under a new President and a new Congress. Today there is real bipartisan agreement on measures we can take that will lead to a better future for America's public schools and the fifty million students who rely on those schools to provide them with a quality education. The Better Education for Students and Teachers Act, unanimously supported by the Senate HELP Committee, encompasses President Bush's emphasis on literacy and his laudable goals to improve reading skills in the early grades and among disadvantaged students. Consensus also exists among Republicans and Democrats alike that in order to improve student achievement, we must also improve teacher quality. What teachers know and can do are the single most important influences on what students learn, according to the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future. And yet today in America, nearly one quarter of all newly hired public school teachers lack the qualifications for their jobs, and approximately the same percentage of all secondary school teachers--25 percent--do not have even a minor in their main teaching field.”