119-hres94

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 94 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
H. RES. 94

 Expressing support for the Nation's local public K-12 schools and 
condemning any actions that would defund public education or weaken or 
 dismantle the Department of Education.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 February 4, 2025

 Ms. Bonamici (for herself, Mrs. McIver, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Lee of 
Pennsylvania, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Grijalva, Mrs. Dingell, Ms. Barragan, 
 Ms. Simon, Mr. Doggett, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Mr. Johnson of 
 Georgia, Mr. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Mrs. Ramirez, Ms. Sewell, Mr. 
 Thompson of Mississippi, Mrs. Trahan, Mr. Goldman of New York, Ms. 
 Scanlon, Ms. Titus, Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania, Mr. Fields, Mr. Pocan, 
 Mr. Peters, Mr. Kennedy of New York, Mr. Vargas, Ms. Williams of 
 Georgia, Ms. Johnson of Texas, Mr. Takano, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Ms. 
 Castor of Florida, Ms. Ansari, Mr. Courtney, Ms. Sanchez, Ms. 
 Budzinski, Mr. Mullin, Ms. Escobar, Mr. Thanedar, Mr. Raskin, Ms. 
 Pingree, Mr. Moulton, Mrs. McBath, Mr. Deluzio, Mr. Nadler, Mr. 
 Olszewski, Mr. Soto, Mr. Connolly, Ms. Stansbury, Mr. Casar, Mr. 
McGovern, Ms. Velazquez, Ms. Ross, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Green of Texas, Mrs. 
Fletcher, Ms. Dexter, Ms. Bynum, Mr. Stanton, Ms. Salinas, Ms. Hoyle of 
 Oregon, Ms. Craig, Mr. Mannion, Ms. Stevens, Ms. McDonald Rivet, Mrs. 
Hayes, and Ms. McCollum) submitted the following resolution; which was 
 referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

 RESOLUTION

 Expressing support for the Nation's local public K-12 schools and 
condemning any actions that would defund public education or weaken or 
 dismantle the Department of Education.

Whereas the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et 
 seq.) defines free public education as education that is ``provided at 
 public expense, under public supervision and direction, and without 
 tuition charge'' and ``provided as elementary or secondary education in 
 the applicable State or to preschool children'';
Whereas publicly funded local K-12 schools serve millions of students and 
 families and provide economic opportunity for all, including in rural 
 and geographically isolated areas;
Whereas, approximately 90 percent of students in the United States in 
 prekindergarten through 12th grade and about 95 percent of students with 
 disabilities attend a public school;
Whereas State and local funding for public K-12 schools varies significantly 
 within States and across the United States, creating additional need 
 among schools in under-resourced communities;
Whereas the role of the Federal Government in public education has historically 
 been to level the playing field by creating equity of opportunity for 
 all students, regardless of their background, ability, or ZIP Code in 
 which they are educated;
Whereas Federal funding plays a critical role in narrowing funding gaps for 
 disadvantaged students, providing integrated and wraparound supports for 
 students and families, helping students meet challenging State academic 
 standards, and increasing the chances of success in education and the 
 workforce;
Whereas 2025 marks the 60th anniversary of the Elementary and Secondary 
 Education Act of 1965

    (ESEA) and the 50th anniversary of the Education 
 for All Handicapped Children Act, now known as the Individuals with 
 Disabilities Education Act

    (IDEA) (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.);
Whereas the Department of Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3401 et seq.), 
 enacted in 1979, declares ``that the establishment of a Department of 
 Education is in the public interest, will promote the general welfare of 
 the United States, will help ensure that education issues receive proper 
 treatment at the Federal level, and will enable the Federal Government 
 to coordinate its education activities more effectively'';
Whereas the Department of Education serves approximately 100,000 public K-12 
 schools across the country, which collectively educate more than 
 49,000,000 students;
Whereas reading and mathematics scores and college degree attainment have 
 substantially increased since the Department of Education was 
 established;
Whereas the Department of Education is also a civil rights agency responsible 
 for protecting students from discrimination and advancing educational 
 equity and its Office for Civil Rights enforces Federal laws prohibiting 
 discrimination and harassment, including investigating record numbers of 
 incidents of discrimination and hate in recent years despite employing 
 only about half of the staff the Office had when it was originally 
 established;
Whereas the Department of Education administers IDEA grants to help public 
 schools serve more than 7,500,000 students with disabilities, a 
 substantial financial commitment that cannot reasonably be assumed by 
 State or local governments, and provides monitoring and oversight to 
 hold States accountable for providing a free appropriate public 
 education for students with disabilities;
Whereas the Department of Education provides supplementary funding through ESEA 
 title I-A grants to more than 51,000 public schools serving concentrated 
 populations of students from low-income families in rural, suburban, and 
 urban communities;
Whereas the Department of Education provides funding through ESEA title IV-F to 
 support full-service community schools, which partner with local 
 stakeholders, parents, and families to provide common sense, locally 
 driven solutions to the challenges students and families face;
Whereas the Department of Education provides vital support to thousands of rural 
 school districts through the Rural Education Achievement program under 
 ESEA title V-B, which funds both the Small, Rural School Achievement 
 grant program and the Rural and Low-Income School grant program;
Whereas the Department of Education directly invests in the quality and 
 effectiveness of nearly 90 percent of teachers and approximately 20 
 percent of school leaders nationwide through ESEA title II-A 
 professional development grants, ultimately improving retention rates, 
 addressing the nationwide educator shortage, and improving student 
 achievement;
Whereas the Department of Education provides supplementary funding to help more 
 than 5,000,000 English-language learners achieve language proficiency 
 and meet State academic standards through ESEA title III-A grants;
Whereas the Department of Education provides supplementary funding to help tens 
 of thousands of public schools provide well-rounded education, 
 technology support, and school safety measures through ESEA title IV-A, 
 IV-B, and IV-F grants;
Whereas the Department of Education provides grants under ESEA title IV-E to 
 support the work of Statewide Family Engagement Centers, which provide 
 parent education initiatives, family engagement programs, and family-
 school partnerships;
Whereas the Department of Education supports the education of Indian, Native 
 Hawaiian, and Alaska Native children, consistent with the historic trust 
 responsibility, through ESEA title VI grants;
Whereas the Department of Education provides funds to strengthen and support 
 career and technical education programs for more than 8,200,000 
 secondary students across the country through title I of the Carl D. 
 Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (20 U.S.C. 2321 et seq.);
Whereas the Department of Education provides necessary oversight so students 
 have access to targeted interventions and services;
Whereas the Department of Education protects students, families, and staff from 
 discrimination based on race, color, or national origin under title VI 
 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), based on sex 
 under title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et 
 seq.), and based on disability under 

section 504 of the Rehabilitation 
 Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 
 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) so all individuals can access equal 
 educational and employment opportunities;
Whereas the Department of Education invests in research to understand and 
 disseminate information about the interventions and practices that are 
 most effective at providing excellent educational opportunities for all 
 students;
Whereas the Department of Education employs the smallest staff of any 
 Department, with the lowest overall staff-to-budget ratio of all 15 
 Departments;
Whereas dismantling or relocating any major offices within the Department of 
 Education may substantially disrupt program administration and create a 
 delay or loss of vitally important supports for students and funding for 
 public schools across the Nation; and
Whereas, without Federal investment, State and local educational agencies would 
 be forced to enact drastic funding cuts that would disproportionately 
 affect students from rural areas, low-income families, students of 
 color, and students with disabilities, as well as harm American 
 competition in the global economy: Now, therefore, be it
 Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

    (1) strongly supports Federal investment in public K-12 
 schools and the students and families served by these schools;

    (2) affirms that the Department of Education plays a vital 
 role in the Nation's system of public education;

    (3) affirms that the Federal Government's investment is 
 important to the success of students in public schools, and 
 investment in public education should not be diverted, 
 including through the use of vouchers, to privately run K-12 
 schools; and

    (4) rejects any claim that the executive branch has the 
 legal authority to, or would serve the Nation by--
        (A) dismantling or relocating major offices within 
 the Department of Education;
        (B) dismantling or relocating the Department of 
 Education; or
            (C) reducing Federal funding for public education, 
 blocking the granting of major Federal grant programs 
 for education, or transferring funding burdens for 
 education to State and local governments.
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