Patty Murray: “Today I send to the desk legislation to help school districts hire 100,000 well-prepared teachers to combat overcrowding…”

“Today I send to the desk legislation to help school districts hire 100,000 well-prepared teachers to combat overcrowding in our nation's classrooms. Few issues are more important to the American family than the quality of our public schools. With challenges like illiteracy, poor work and study skills, and the threat of student violence, what we need are strategies that work to produce results for all students. Increasing the number of well-qualified teachers to reduce class size is an effort that works. The research is clear, and the research only backs up what our school communities have long known, that class size reduction improves student achievement. Unlike vouchers and tax schemes that don't provide the benefits for schools or students that they claim--class size reduction works, and it benefits all students. Public education is important to the American people, and has been since the beginning of our nation. The public school is one of the most effective self-betterment tools in the history of this country.”