For immediate release:
June 19, 2013
Media contact:
Kristen Hawn
press@tutorourchildren.org
(301) 485-9553
Washington – On Wednesday, June 19th, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce conducted a mark up of the Student Success Act (H.R. 5), legislation that would reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. While the legislation includes some parent choice options to protect the nation’s most vulnerable students, including a modest set aside for federally funded after-school tutoring, it does not go far enough.
Washington – On Wednesday, June 19th, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce conducted a mark up of the Student Success Act (H.R. 5), legislation that would reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. While the legislation includes some parent choice options to protect the nation’s most vulnerable students, including a modest set aside for federally funded after-school tutoring, it does not go far enough.
Tutor Our Children spokesperson and former Assistant Secretary of Education Stephanie Monroe issued the following statement on the legislation as it was reported out of committee:
“While Tutor Our Children commends Chairman Kline for bringing reauthorization to the forefront, the bill in its current form does not do nearly enough to protect the thousands of low-income students struggling in our nation’s lowest performing schools. Federally funded tutoring is nothing short of an educational lifeline for so many of these students and their parents. Tutoring works. We should be improving and expanding, not downsizing, this critical program.”
The bill as it currently stands authorizes less than half the funds that were previously spent for after-school tutoring services for low-income students across the country.
“Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have a responsibility to work together to pass education reform legislation that protects parent choice, and that means preserving tutoring options for families who would otherwise be unable to afford it. We have a responsibility not only to expand access to this critical program, but also to ensure its long-term viability by providing for increased accountability and reforms in the system,” said Monroe.
Tutor Our Children was created to give a voice to the parents and children who benefit from federally funded tutoring services and the providers, community organizations and faith-based groups across the country dedicated to extending support to the most vulnerable students. For more information, visit www.tutorourchildren.org.
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