Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) gave Claremont Media Coverage an exclusive copy of his impassioned remarks that he plans to deliver before the education committee tonight. His bill, the Learning Education Advancement for Pupils (LEAP) Act of 2011 will give money to states in a competitive process to invest in early child care education. This has support from both Democrats and Republicans:
Hello Fellow Senators,
Tonight, we are considering monumental legislation that will enhance early child care and education programs across the country. Currently, the consensus is that early child care is tied to issues of childhood poverty.
Our system does not provide early child care education that meets the needs of the country. According to the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies, each day, over eleven million children under the age of five spend time outside the care of their parents in early learning settings that vary greatly in terms of quality. In 2008, only twelve states included pre-k as part of their state funding formula. State spending on pre-k programs varies from $1,686 per pre-k child to almost $11,000. LEAP acts to increase funding for programs that support early child care.
In addition, LEAP works to improve teacher quality. As Congress provides oversight over the bureaucracy, this legislation works to improve the amount of qualified teachers through awarding competitive grants to states. Throughout the process, there is constant oversight where data systems are used to maintain effectiveness.
LEAP will also strengthen the economy. From the 1960s to 2006, the United States fell from 1st to 18th out of twenty-four industrialized nations in high school graduation rates. If all of the students who dropped out of the class of 2007 had graduated, their combined lifetime incomes would have boosted the American economy by $329 billion. America loses $192 billion (1.6% of its GDP) in income and tax revenue with each cohort of eighteen year olds who never complete high school. The annual loss of federal and state income taxes associated with the twenty-three million U.S. high school dropouts (ages 18-67) is over $50 billion compared to what they would have paid if they had graduated. Therefore, this bill is an investment in our children's future.
It is more efficient and beneficial to invest in our children as soon as possible. The younger the age of investment in human capital, the higher the rate of the return. If society invests early enough,it can raise cognitive and socio-emotional levels and the health of disadvantaged children. Early investments promote schooling, reduce crime, foster workforce productivity, promote health, and reduce teenage pregnancy. Investing in early childhood development for disadvantaged children provides up to a 10% rate of return to society through increased personal achievement and social productivity. Districts can anticipate savings from decreased grade retention and special education placements, improved graduation rates, and greater success in college through adulthood. For example, children who graduated from Head Start are less likely to repeat a grade or need special education, and are more likely to graduate from High School than their peers who have not participated.
As members of the Education Committee, we have a responsibility to spend conservatively. For this reason, my bill does not contain an authorization of appropriations. In the midst of a national deficit, we must leave appropriations to the Appropriations Committee.
I would like to leave you with a quote by James Heckman, a professor at Princeton University"“The short-term costs are more than offset by the immediate and long- term benefits through reduction in the need for special education and remediation, better health outcomes, reduced need for social services, lower criminal justice costs and productivity among families. Effective early childhood education packages cognitive skills with character skills such as attentiveness, impulse control, persistence and teamwork. Together, cognition and character drive education, career and life success. The return on investment is based on increased school and career achievement, as well as reduced costs in remedial education, health and criminal justice expenditures."
Thank you.
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