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