Political Quotes

“The Thompson amendment to the Student Success Act is a commonsense amendment that ensures millions of poor, minority, and disadvantaged students will not be overlooked in the chaos that emanates from this rewrite of our educational policy. Madam Chair, education is a civil right. Rather than develop quality standards that improve and enhance our system of education, this body has overlooked the harmful effects of H.R. 5 on funding and equal opportunity for millions of our students. H.R. 5 removes strong accountability provisions required to make sure that children who need the most help will actually get help. It is morally unacceptable and extraordinarily expensive to have 14.7 million poor children in our country, 6.5 million of them living at less than half the poverty level. All of these children exceed the combined residents in all 50 State capitals and the District of Columbia. The Thompson amendment protects these populations from discrimination. The Student Success Act has failed to set standards that ensure vulnerable minority and disadvantaged students will be able to obtain a high school diploma. Our Nation has demonstrated the need for Federal action that forces States to care about the achievement of vulnerable communities. More specifically, in Black communities, the legacy and commitment to education stems from the days of slavery when Blacks learned to read in secret and at risk to their own lives. Even 50 years after Brown v.…”