James M. Jeffords: “I am hopeful we will all work together in a bipartisan manner to come out with legislation on which we can all agree.…”

“I am hopeful we will all work together in a bipartisan manner to come out with legislation on which we can all agree. Today, the Senate begins debate of S. 2, the Educational Opportunities Act. This legislation deals with every aspect of federal assistance to our nation's elementary and secondary schools. There is perhaps no subject more on the minds of the American public than education. As a nation, we have long recognized that the quality of our future depends upon the quality of the education provided to our children. From our very earliest days, schoolhouses were among the first buildings to spring up in budding communities. Federal involvement in elementary and secondary education can be traced back to the enactment of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, one of the first laws passed by the Continental Congress. The Northwest Ordinance required each township within the territory to reserve one square mile for the establishment of public schools. Under the Northwest Ordinance law, 77 million acres of land were set aside for public education. Since 1965, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, ESEA, has provided the foundation for Federal efforts to help children succeed in school. Currently, we provide about $14.3 billion annually for ESEA programs.”