Political Quotes

“I am so pleased that the Senate is taking the last few legislative steps to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act or ESEA. Our bipartisan bill, the Every Student Succeeds Act, will end the one-size-fits-all mandates of No Child Left Behind. It will reduce reliance on high-stakes testing, and it will help ensure that all students have access to a quality education regardless of where they live, how they learn or how much money their parents make. One of the best ways to help students succeed in school is by offering high- quality early learning opportunities for kids. I am proud our bipartisan bill will also improve and expand access to preschool programs for more of our Nation's youngest learners. Preschool is actually how I got my start in politics in the mid-1980s. At the time I wasn't thinking about running for the U.S. Senate or even the State legislature in Washington. I just had one specific goal in mind. The State legislature at the time was going to close down preschools in my small community because of budget cuts. I knew the impact that would have on my own kids and on the kids I saw in the classroom, but when I went to talk to State legislators about it with my kids, they wouldn't listen. They didn't think our voices mattered, and they didn't think preschool should be a priority. So I picked up the phone and started calling other parents. We held rallies, we wrote letters, and when it was all said and done, we won.…”