Evan Bayh: “I believe this amendment is necessary to make the most of the historic opportunity that lies before us to improve the…”

“I believe this amendment is necessary to make the most of the historic opportunity that lies before us to improve the quality of education for all of America's schoolchildren. This amendment is important. It is needed to make sure that our effort is comprehensive. One of the good things about the bill that has been authored to date is that it includes all the stakeholders necessary to improve the quality of public education. It includes teachers, administrators, those in higher education, parents, and others who are important to improving the quality of America's public schools. It will be strange if we do not include the chief executive officers of the States, those who are charged with the welfare and well-being of the citizens within their States. Most of the time--the vast majority of the time--there is no more important issue for the States' chief executives--the Governors --than the quality of education for America's schoolchildren. For this to be a comprehensive effort including all stakeholders, we must include the Governors of the 50 States.”