Political Quotes

“Duncan Taylor is the parent of a second grader in Highline public schools in my home State of Washington. Like so many parents in my State, he got a letter in the mail saying his son's school was failing. Last year, Washington State lost its waiver from No Child Left Behind's requirements. Not only did that mean most of the schools in the State are now labeled as failing, it meant Washington State lost flexibility over how to spend some of its Federal funding. As an active member of the PTA, Duncan volunteers in the classroom. So he knew that the label of ``failing'' did not reflect the kind of education his son was getting, but as an education advocate, he also knew that losing out on that funding--in effect punishing schools that serve students from all kinds of backgrounds--was not going to help. Like so many parents and teachers across the Nation, Duncan has been following our work to reauthorize the Nation's elementary and secondary education bill. We cannot let them down. I thank Chairman Alexander for working with me since February on a bipartisan path to get us to this point today. This process started when Chairman Alexander and I agreed that No Child Left Behind is badly broken and needed to be fixed. He has been a great partner, and I am thrilled we have reached this point together. I also thank all of our colleagues on the HELP Committee for their work and dedication in moving this bill forward.…”