Urban Schools Group Supports Education Bill

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 - The Council of the Great City Schools, a coalition of the nation's largest urban public school systems, gave its qualified support to the House and Senate conference agreement on H.R.1, the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

The Council praises a number of features critical to helping the nation's big-city schools teach its students to the highest standards. "First, H.R. 1 returns to the original purpose of ESEA in striving to enhance educational opportunities for disadvantaged students who are too often left behind," says Council Executive Director Michael Casserly. "Second, it does so by retaining and strengthening the nation's commitment to the standards movement that was articulated in the 1994 reauthorization."

Other provisions in the bill that the Council deems important and helpful include increased Title 1 funding targeted to schools based on poverty rates; new flexibility for local school districts to acquire and transfer federal dollars without state block grants; and a new initiative to boost student reading performance.

It also supports the new measures to underscore greater accountability for academic achievement, and had strongly supported the Bush Administration's cornerstone proposal to test students in grades 3-8 and be held accountable for the performance of each disaggregated group. Says Casserly, "Urban schools across the country welcome this accountability and are working harder than ever to raise achievement."

The Council's support of the education bill was tempered by concerns that the organization shares with some other education groups that don't support the measure. A major concern is that the bill "contains a fragile promise to provide the resources necessary to assist schools in meeting new and higher state standards," stresses Casserly. Other concerns include the lack of targeting in the new reading program, the newly consolidated technology program and the 21st Century grants, as well as the large number of federal requirements and mandates. The Council also expressed concern with the "adequate yearly progress" language in the bill and urged care and flexibility in its implementation.

"Urban schools will be working triple time to make this bill work for our urban school children," Casserly concluded.