Charles E. Grassley: “on another item, an article appeared in the Washington Post on Monday, May 16, discussing a program for at-risk youth…”

“on another item, an article appeared in the Washington Post on Monday, May 16, discussing a program for at-risk youth that is finding great success in Prince Georges County. The program is called ``Female Achievers'' and works with middle school girls who come from difficult home lives and deal with challenging issues. This program is to be commended for its work with at-risk teenagers and for its three ground rules: First, no lying; second, confidentiality among group members; third, communication with parents. I recently added an amendment to the Goals 2000: Educate America Act giving parents the right to know what nonscholastic activities were taking place in the lives of their children during school hours. I said during the debate on that amendment that I do not oppose activities taking place on school grounds that are nonscholastic, but what I do oppose is those activities taking place behind parents' backs. The third ground rule of the Female Achievers program addresses this concern. It requires communication with parents. This is the way it should be. Considering the difficulty of the times in which we live, there is a time to address nonscholastic issues in school. I commend the promoters of the Female Achievers program for including communication with parents as one of their three ground rules.”