Welcome to Senator John F. Kerry's Online Office Text Version

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At Work in Congress

World Class Education for All Americans:

Massachusetts, home of America's first public elementary school and first public high school, is a national leader in its efforts to reform the public education system. Ever since there has been a United States of America, there have been public schools, because a free education for all is a critical component of our society.

As a United States Senator, I believe that the federal government has two essential roles in the nation's public education system: to help provide quality educational opportunities for all children and to improve everyone's access to higher education. Ensuring that the federal government fulfills its role in the nation's education system is one of my highest legislative priorities. I believe that we must increase our investment in public education to ensure that all students are capable of meeting high standards; that we must maintain our commitment to the most economically disadvantaged students and schools; that we must ensure that schools have capable leaders and fully-certified teachers; and that we must hold schools accountable for providing children with a high-quality education.

Senator Kerry led a group of bipartisan senators during the 106th Congress in an effort to identify key education reform initiatives that all parties could agree were critical to improving education reform. Those initiatives included strong accountability provisions, funding comprehensive school reform, ensuring that principals have access to high-quality professional development opportunities; funding to schools for the creation of alternative learning environments for violent or chronically disruptive students; funding initiatives to recruit and retain high-quality teachers; and expanding public school choice programs.

The education reform priorities that Senator Kerry and his colleagues championed were critical components of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 2000 and 2001.Senator Kerry supported legislation signed into law this year to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. For years legislators spun their wheels as they tried to reform the public education system, Republicans calling for a diminished federal role, Democrats calling for more programs and greater funding levels. Senator Kerry believed that there was significant room for consensus on public education reform, and last year he worked with 10 of his Democratic colleagues to introduce legislation that would help break the stalemate and move beyond the tired, partisan debates of the past. Their education proposal became the foundation of the education bill signed into law by President Bush. The groundbreaking legislation enhances the federal government's commitment to our nation's public education system, dramatically reconfigures the federal role in public education, and embraces many of the principles and programs that Senator Kerry believes are critical to improving the public education system.

Senator Kerry has been at the forefront of the fight to obtain federal funding for school construction. The need to build new schools and remodel existing schools is tremendous. Three-quarters of our public schools are in need of repairs, renovation, or modernization. More than 1/3 of schools rely on portable classrooms, such as trailers, many of which lack heat or air conditioning. Twenty percent of public schools report unsafe conditions, such as failing fire alarms or electrical problems. At the same time the schools are getting older, the number of students is growing, up nine percent since 1990. The Department of Education estimates that 2,400 new schools will be needed by 2003. The American Society of Engineers rated the condition of the nation's schools a D-. Senator Kerry responded to these challenges by cosponsoring S. 905, legislation that would allow the federal government to issue $24.8 billion in school modernization bonds in order to help states and school districts fix crumbling schools.

Senator Kerry was the first to bring the attention of Congress to the importance of leadership of the public schools, recognizing the critical role that principals and other administrators play in school reform efforts. The principalship is a vital position to educational change and improvement. A good principal can create a climate that fosters excellence in teaching and learning, while an ineffective one can quickly thwart the progress of the most dedicated reformers. In the coming years, we will be faced with a leadership crisis in our schools. Many of today's principals are reaching the age at which they could choose to retire, and evidence has pointed to a decline in the number of candidates for each opening. If the flow of retirees is not stemmed and the numbers of aspiring principals buoyed, we will face a crucial school leadership crisis - one that could debilitate meaningful education reform. Senator Kerry proposed an amendment, which was ultimately signed into law, to ensure that these important educational leaders have the resources that they need to serve our school communities.

One size does not fit all in American public education. Students and families need to be able to choose a public school that meets their needs. Enacting public school choice programs and expanding the number of charter schools in the country are important ways to provide students and families with the ability to choose the schools that best meets their needs. Senator Kerry has strongly supported efforts to expand schooling options for parents of children within the public school system.

The federal government has never met its funding obligation for special education. Senator Kerry has worked with many of his colleagues to ensure that the federal government becomes a true partner of state and local governments in the provision of special education. When Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Act, it agreed to fund 40% of the cost of special education. Currently the federal share stands at a mere 11%. Senator Kerry has consistently supported efforts to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and will continue working toward full funding.