Patty Murray: “classrooms across America are less crowded today than they were a year ago, because this Congress made a commitment to…”

“classrooms across America are less crowded today than they were a year ago, because this Congress made a commitment to hiring new teachers to reduce classroom overcrowding. The progress has been overwhelming. Today, 1.7 million students are in less crowded classrooms--where they can learn the basics in a disciplined environment. That is the type of progress we should continue. Unfortunately, this Republican bill abandons our commitment to helping students learn in less crowded classrooms. At a time when we should be ensuring that every student can benefit from an uncrowded classroom, this Republican bill makes no guarantee that smaller classes will become a reality. That is why I am on the floor today--to make sure that no student is stuck in an overcrowded classroom in grades 1-3. I am offering an amendment which would authorize the class size reduction program in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. As a former teacher, I can tell you, it really makes a difference if you have 18 kids in a classroom instead of 35--parents know it, teachers know it, and students know it. By working together over the past 2 years, we have been able to bring real results to students. With the first year of class size reduction funding, we have been able to hire 29,000 teachers across the country. Approximately 1.7 million students across the country are learning in classrooms that are less crowded than they were the year before.”