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+
+ - LESSONS LEARNED: CHARTING THE PATH TO EDUCATIONAL EQUITY
+
+[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
+[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
+
+
+
+
+
+ LESSONS LEARNED: CHARTING
+ THE PATH TO EDUCATIONAL EQUITY
+
+=======================================================================
+
+ HEARING
+
+ before the
+
+ SUBCOMMITTEE ON
+ EARLY CHILDHOOD, ELEMENTARY,
+ AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
+
+ of the
+
+ COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR
+ U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
+
+ ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
+
+ FIRST SESSION
+
+ __________
+
+ HEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC, MARCH 25, 2021
+
+ __________
+
+ Serial No. 117-5
+
+ __________
+
+ Printed for the use of the Committee on Education and Labor
+
+
+
+
+[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
+
+
+
+
+ Available via: edlabor.house.gov or www.govinfo.gov
+
+ ______
+
+
+ U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
+43-873 PDF WASHINGTON : 2022
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR
+
+ ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT, Virginia, Chairman
+
+RAUL M. GRIJALVA, Arizona VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina,
+JOE COURTNEY, Connecticut Ranking Member
+GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN, JOE WILSON, South Carolina
+ Northern Mariana Islands GLENN THOMPSON, Pennsylvania
+FREDERICA S. WILSON, Florida TIM WALBERG, Michigan
+SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon GLENN GROTHMAN, Wisconsin
+MARK TAKANO, California ELISE M. STEFANIK, New York
+ALMA S. ADAMS, North Carolina RICK W. ALLEN, Georgia
+MARK De SAULNIER, California JIM BANKS, Indiana
+DONALD NORCROSS, New Jersey JAMES COMER, Kentucky
+PRAMILA JAYAPAL, Washington RUSS FULCHER, Idaho
+JOSEPH D. MORELLE, New York FRED KELLER, Pennsylvania
+SUSAN WILD, Pennsylvania GREGORY F. MURPHY, North Carolina
+LUCY Mc BATH, Georgia MARIANNETTE MILLER-MEEKS, Iowa
+JAHANA HAYES, Connecticut BURGESS OWENS, Utah
+ANDY LEVIN, Michigan BOB GOOD, Virginia
+ILHAN OMAR, Minnesota LISA C. Mc CLAIN, Michigan
+HALEY M. STEVENS, Michigan DIANA HARSHBARGER, Tennessee
+TERESA LEGER FERNANDEZ, New Mexico MARY E. MILLER, Illinois
+MONDAIRE JONES, New York VICTORIA SPARTZ, Indiana
+KATHY E. MANNING, North Carolina SCOTT FITZGERALD, Wisconsin
+FRANK J. MRVAN, Indiana MADISON CAWTHORN, North Carolina
+JAMAAL BOWMAN, New York, Vice-Chair MICHELLE STEEL, California
+MARK POCAN, Wisconsin Vacancy
+JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas Vacancy
+MIKIE SHERRILL, New Jersey
+JOHN A. YARMUTH, Kentucky
+ADRIANO ESPAILLAT, New York
+KWEISI MFUME, Maryland
+
+ Veronique Pluviose, Staff Director
+ Cyrus Artz, Minority Staff Director
+ ------
+
+ SUBCOMMITTEE ON EARLY CHILDHOOD, ELEMENTARY, AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
+
+ GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN, Northern Mariana Islands, Chairman
+
+JAHANA HAYES, Connecticut BURGESS OWENS, Utah
+RAUL M. GRIJALVA, Arizona Ranking Member
+JOHN A. YARMUTH, Kentucky GLENN GROTHMAN, Wisconsin
+FREDERICA S. WILSON, Florida RICK W. ALLEN, Georgia
+MARK De SAULNIER, California FRED KELLER, Pennsylvania
+JOSEPH D. MORELLE, New York MARY E. MILLER, Illinois
+LUCY Mc BATH, Georgia MADISON CAWTHORN, North Carolina
+ANDY LEVIN, Michigan MICHELLE STEEL, California
+KATHY E. MANNING, North Carolina Vacancy
+JAMAAL BOWMAN, New York Vacancy
+ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT, Virginia VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina
+ (ex officio)
+
+
+ C O N T E N T S
+
+ ----------
+ Page
+
+Hearing held on March 25, 2021................................... 1
+
+Statement of Members:
+ Sablan, Hon. Gregorio Kilili Camacho, Chairman, Subcommittee
+ on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.... 1
+ Prepared statement of.................................... 5
+ Owens, Hon. Burgess, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Early
+ Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education............. 6
+ Prepared statement of.................................... 9
+
+Statement of Witnesses:
+ Almazan, Selene A., Esq., Legal Director, Council of Parent
+ Attorneys and Advocates, Inc............................... 23
+ Prepared statement of.................................... 26
+ Carvalho, Alberto M., Superintendent of Schools, Miami-Dade
+ County Public Schools...................................... 43
+ Prepared statement of.................................... 46
+ Dale, Jennifer, Parent....................................... 18
+ Prepared statement of.................................... 21
+ Morial, Marc H., JD, President and CEO, National Urban League 12
+ Prepared statement of.................................... 14
+
+Additional Submissions:
+ Scott, Hon. Robert C. ``Bobby'', a Representative in Congress
+ from the State of Virginia:
+ Article: ``CDC report on Smithfield COVID-19 outbreak in
+ Sioux Falls was redone with 'watered down'
+ recommendations''...................................... 78
+ Article: ``The CDC softened a report on meatpacking
+ safety during the pandemic. Democrats say they want to
+ know why.''............................................ 85
+ Article: ``Democrats demand answers from Labor Department
+ on CDC recommendations for meatpacking plant''......... 89
+ CDC guidelines on Operational Strategy for K-12 Schools
+ through Phased Prevention.............................. 91
+ NEA News: Six Ways ESSA Will Improve Assessments......... 109
+ NWEA technical brief: Comparability analysis of remote
+ and in-person MAP Growth testing in fall 2020.......... 118
+ Future Ed: A Smart Role for State Standardized Testing in
+ 2021................................................... 137
+ GAO WatchBlog: The Challenges of Going Back to School.... 140
+ GAO WatchBlog: Racial Disparities in Education and the
+ Role of Government..................................... 144
+ Statement from the National Council on Disability........ 147
+ Letter from the National Association of School
+ Psychologists.......................................... 150
+ Report from Common Sense and Hopelab--Coping with COVID-
+ 19: How young people use digital media to manage their
+ mental health.......................................... 153
+ Questions submitted for the record by:
+ Wilson, Hon. Federica, a Representative in Congress from
+ the State of Florida................................... 228
+ Morelle, Hon. Joseph, a Representative in Congress from
+ the State of New York.................................. 228
+ Responses to questions submitted for the record by:
+ Mr. Morial............................................... 229
+
+
+ LESSONS LEARNED: CHARTING
+
+ THE PATH TO EDUCATIONAL EQUITY
+ ----------
+
+
+ Thursday, March 25, 2021
+
+ House of Representatives,
+ Subcommittee on Early Childhood,
+ Elementary, and Secondary Education,
+ Committee on Education and Labor,
+ Washington, DC.
+ The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 1:01 p.m., via
+Zoom, Hon. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (Chairman of the
+subcommittee) presiding.
+ Present: Representatives Sablan, Hayes, Grijalva, Yarmuth,
+Wilson, DeSaulnier, Morelle, McBath, Levin, Manning, Bowman,
+Scott (Ex Officio), Owens, Grothman, Allen, Keller, Miller,
+Cawthorn, Steel and Foxx (Ex Officio).
+ Staff present: Phoebe Ball, Disability Counsel; Ilana
+Brunner, General Counsel; David Dailey, Counsel to the
+Chairman; Sheila Havenner, Director of Information Technology;
+Eli Hovland, Policy Associate; Ariel Jones, Policy Associate;
+Andre Lindsay, Policy Associate; Max Moore, Staff Assistant;
+Mariah Mowbray, Clerk/Special Assistant to the Staff Director;
+Kayla Pennebacker, Staff Assistant; Veronique Pluviose, Staff
+Director; Benjamin Sinoff, Director of Education Oversight;
+Lakeisha Steel, Senior Education Policy Advisor; Claire Viall,
+Professional Staff; Cyrus Artz, Minority Staff Director; Kelsey
+Avino, Minority Professional Staff Member; Courtney Butcher,
+Minority Director of Member Services and Coalitions; Amy Raaf
+Jones, Minority Director of Education and Human Resources
+Policy; Dean Johnson, Minority Legislative Assistant; Hannah
+Matesic, Minority Director of Operations; Audra McGeorge,
+Minority Communications Director; Carlton Norwood, Minority
+Press Secretary; Chance Russell, Minority Legislative
+Assistant; Mandy Schaumberg, Minority Chief Counsel and Deputy
+Director of Education Policy; and Brad Thomas, Minority Senior
+Education Policy Advisor.
+ Chairman Sablan. The Subcommittee of Early Childhood
+Elementary and Secondary Education will come to order. Welcome
+everyone. I note that a quorum is present. The subcommittee is
+meeting today to hear testimony on Charting the Path to
+Education Equity Post-COVID-19. And this is an entirely remote
+hearing.
+ All microphones will be kept muted as a general rule to
+avoid unnecessary background noise. Members and witnesses will
+be responsible for unmuting themselves when they are recognized
+to speak, or when they wish to seek recognition. I also ask the
+Members please identify themselves before they speak.
+ Members should keep their cameras on while in the
+proceeding. Members shall be considered present in the
+proceeding when they are visible on camera, and they shall be
+considered not present when they are not visible on camera. The
+only exception to this is if they are experiencing technical
+difficulty and inform committee staff of such difficulty.
+ If any Member experiences technical difficulties during the
+hearing you should stay connected on the platform, make sure
+you are muted and use your phone to immediately call the
+committee's IT director whose number was provided in advance.
+ Should the Chair experience technical difficulty or need to
+step away, Chairman Scott as a Member of this subcommittee, or
+another Majority Member of the subcommittee if Chairman Scott
+is not available, is hereby authorized to assume the gavel in
+the Chair's absence.
+ This is an entirely remote meeting. And as such the
+Committee's hearing room is officially closed. Members who
+choose to sit with their individual devices in the hearing room
+must wear headphones to avoid feedback, echoes and distortion
+resulting from more than one person on the software platform
+sitting in the same room.
+ Members are also expected to adhere to social distancing,
+and safe healthcare guidelines including the use of masks, hand
+sanitizers and wiping down their areas, both before and after
+their presence in the hearing room. In order to ensure that the
+Committee's five-minute rule is adhered to, staff will be
+keeping track of time using the Committee's field timer.
+ The field timer will appear in its own thumbnail picture
+and will be named 001_timer. There will be no one minute
+remaining warning. The field timer will sound its audio alarm
+when time is up, and it goes really loud--``bzzzzzz.'' Members
+and witnesses are asked to wrap up promptly when their time has
+expired.
+ While a roll call is not necessary to establish a quorum in
+official proceedings conducted remotely or with remote
+participation, the committee has made it a practice whenever
+there is an official proceeding with remote participation for
+the Clerk to call the roll to help make clear who is present at
+the start of the proceeding.
+ Members should say their name before announcing they are
+present. This helps the clerk, and also helps those watching
+the platform and the livestream who may experience a few
+seconds delay.
+ So, at this time I ask the Clerk to call the roll.
+ The Clerk. Chairman Sablan?
+ Chairman Sablan. Sablan is present.
+ The Clerk. Mrs. Hayes.
+ Mrs. Hayes. Hayes is present.
+ The Clerk. Mr. Grijalva?
+ Mr. Grijalva. Present.
+ The Clerk. Mr. Yarmuth?
+ Mr. Yarmuth. Present.
+ The Clerk. Ms. Wilson?
+ Ms. Wilson. Miss Wilson is present.
+ The Clerk. Mr. DeSaulnier?
+ [No response.]
+ The Clerk. Mr. Morelle?
+ Mr. Morelle. Mr. Morelle is present.
+ The Clerk. Mrs. McBath?
+ Mrs. McBath. Mrs. McBath is present.
+ The Clerk. Mr. Levin?
+ Mr. Levin. Levin is present.
+ The Clerk. Ms. Manning?
+ Ms. Manning. Manning is present.
+ The Clerk. Mr. Bowman?
+ [No response.]
+ The Clerk. Mr. Scott?
+ Mr. Scott. Scott is present.
+ The Clerk. Ranking Member Owens.
+ Mr. Owens. Owens is present.
+ The Clerk. Mr. Grothman?
+ [No response.]
+ The Clerk. Mr. Allen?
+ [No response.]
+ The Clerk. Mr. Keller?
+ Mr. Keller. Keller is present.
+ The Clerk. Mrs. Miller?
+ Mrs. Miller. Miller is present.
+ The Clerk. Mr. Cawthorn?
+ [No response.]
+ The Clerk. Mrs. Steel?
+ Mrs. Steel. Steel present.
+ The Clerk. Mrs. Foxx?
+ Mrs. Foxx. Foxx is present.
+ The Clerk. Chairman Sablan this concludes the roll call.
+ Chairman Sablan. Thank you. Thank you very much. And
+pursuant to Committee Rule 8(c), opening statements are limited
+to the Chair and the Ranking Member, and this allows us to hear
+from our witnesses sooner, and provides all Members with
+adequate time to ask questions.
+ I recognize myself now for the purpose of making an opening
+statement.
+ Today we meet for charting the impact of the COVID-19
+pandemic on school communities and discuss strategies for
+safely reopening classrooms and addressing educational
+disparities. It has been just over a year since the pandemic
+forced schools to abruptly switch to online platforms,
+disrupting the education of more than 55 million students, and
+upending our communities.
+ Unfortunately, the consequences of this transition have
+extended beyond lost in person instructions. School closures
+have restricted student's access to nutritious school meals,
+and social and emotional learning opportunities.
+ And schools are less likely to identify cases of child
+abuse and neglect while classrooms are closed. In my district
+COVID-19 has had the greatest impact on students with
+disabilities, Title I qualified students, English learners and
+other vulnerable students that already face significant
+challenges.
+ Going into the pandemic, schools that are predominantly
+just serving students of color faced a 23-billion-dollar
+funding gap compared to schools predominantly serving white
+students. And because of this disparity many students entered
+the pandemic without access to high-speed internet, dedicated
+devices, and other things that are critical to remote learning.
+ They will also return to older classrooms and campuses with
+much needed repairs, from iPhones, some even to find school
+libraries losing their entire book collection, books meant for
+student literacy. Dilapidated school facilities, including
+dangerously outdated ventilation systems if they are there at
+all.
+ The perfect storm of disparities has worsened inequities in
+unfinished learning and often measurable widening of
+achievement gaps. Research indicates black and Latino students
+were three to 5 months behind in learning at the beginning of
+this school year. By the end of the school year, they could be
+6 to 12 months behind, compared to 4 to 8 months for white
+students.
+ GAO reporting found that school districts struggled to
+provide education and services for students with disabilities
+and English learners. Further, a new survey by the National
+Assessment of Education Progress, or NAEP, found that more than
+half of all black, Latino and Asian fourth graders learned in a
+fully remote environment.
+ Another survey showed that only about a quarter of Pacific
+Islanders received full-time, in-person instruction. In
+comparison, 25 percent of white students learned fully
+remotely, and nearly half of white students received full-time
+in-person instructions.
+ Students with disabilities have also disproportionally
+suffered from this pandemic in the wake of the Trump
+administration's failed COVID-19 response. Without adequate
+guidance from the Department, schools struggled to maintain the
+special education services that students with disabilities
+needed to access quality education in a remote learning
+environment.
+ Today, schools also face challenges to reopening classrooms
+for students with disabilities, who may be more vulnerable to
+the virus. For example, the NAEP 2021 survey showed that 40
+percent of schools prioritized students with disabilities for
+full-time in-person instruction in the 4th and 8th grades.
+ Yet, students with disabilities have not received in-person
+instructions at rates noticeably higher than other subgroups of
+students. These continued disparities make clear that to ensure
+that all schools and students recover from this pandemic, we
+must target relief and resources to underserved students who
+need them most.
+ Over the past year, Congress has taken historic steps
+toward that goal through three major relief packages: The
+Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or the
+CARES Act, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental
+Appropriations Act, and the most recently American Rescue Plan
+Act.
+ Combined together, these packages secured nearly 200
+billion dollars in urgent relief for schools. The funding has
+been critical for covering the increased costs of the pandemic
+and preparing for the 300 billion dollars shortfall in State
+and local budgets. To date, a reduced State revenue has already
+cost more than a million education jobs.
+ The American Rescue Plan specifically makes the most
+significant one-time investment in K through 12 education in
+our Nation's history. Under President Biden, Congress swiftly
+passed this legislation after school communities spent months
+calling for additional funding to reopen schools safely and
+support students.
+ The nearly 130 billion dollars of flexible funding in this
+package will help schools take the necessary steps to safely
+reopen and stay open. And it will help students overcome lost
+time in the classrooms as well as severe trauma, hunger, and
+homelessness.
+ The American Rescue Plan funding will also help Congress to
+fulfill its long-standing commitment to meeting the needs of
+students with disabilities. Specifically, the package dedicates
+3 billion dollars to ensure that K through 12 students with
+disabilities can access the free and appropriate public
+education they have a right to, and toddlers with disabilities
+can access the services they need to be ready to enter the
+school system.
+ The lessons from our pandemic response so far have provided
+a valuable foundation for Congress to take the next steps
+toward educational equity. For example, we need accurate data
+from statewide assessments to understand the full scope of this
+pandemic.
+ Without this data, we cannot accurately target relief
+funding to support school communities where racial achievement
+gaps are greatest. We must also make systemic reforms to our K
+through 12 education system to fully address educational
+disparities. And this includes repairing crumbling school
+infrastructure, confronting the growing resegregation of public
+schools, and making other long-term investments to address
+educational disparities.
+ Today, we will discuss the work we still have ahead to
+close persistent achievement gaps and ensure a recovery from
+this pandemic where every student succeeds. I want to thank our
+witnesses again for being with us and I now go to the Ranking
+Member of the Full Committee Ranking Member Dr. Foxx for her
+opening statement.
+ [The statement of Chairman Sablan follows:]
+
+ Statement of Hon. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, Chairman,
+ Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education
+
+ Today, we meet to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on
+school communities and discuss strategies for safely reopening
+classrooms and addressing educational disparities.
+ It has been just over a year since the pandemic forced schools to
+abruptly switch to online platforms, disrupting the education of more
+than 55 million students and upending our communities.
+ Unfortunately, the consequences of this transition have extended
+beyond lost in-person instruction. School closures have restricted
+students' access to nutritious school meals and social and emotional
+learning opportunities. And schools are less likely to identify cases
+of child abuse and neglect while classrooms are closed.
+ In my district, COVID-19 has had the greatest impact on students
+with disabilities, Title I qualified students, English learners, and
+other vulnerable students that already faced significant challenges.
+ Going into the pandemic, schools predominantly serving students of
+color faced a $23 billion funding gap compared to schools predominantly
+serving white students.
+ Because of this disparity, many students entered the pandemic
+without access to high-speed internet, dedicated devices, and other
+tools that are critical to remote learning. They will also return to
+older classrooms and campuses with much-needed repairs, from iPhones-
+some even to find school libraries losing their entire book collection-
+books meant for student literacy-and dilapidated school facilities,
+including dangerously outdated ventilation systems, if they are there
+at all.
+ The perfect storm of disparities has worsened inequities in
+unfinished learning and caused a measurable widening of achievement
+gaps.
+ Research indicates Black and Latino students were 3-5 months behind
+in learning at the beginning of this school year. By the end of the
+school year, they could be 6-12 months behind, compared to 4-8 months
+for white students.
+ GAO reporting found that school districts struggled to provide
+education and services for students with disabilities and English
+learners. Further, a new survey by the National Assessment of
+Educational Progress, or NAEP, found that more than half of all Black,
+Latino, and Asian fourth graders learned in a fully remote environment.
+Another survey showed that only a quarter of Pacific Islanders received
+full-time, in-person instruction. In comparison, 25 percent of white
+students learned fully remotely, and nearly half of white students
+received full-time in-person instruction.
+ Students with disabilities have also disproportionally suffered
+from this pandemic in the wake of the Trump Administration's failed
+COVID-19 response. Without adequate guidance from the Department,
+schools struggled to maintain the special education services that
+students with disabilities needed to access quality education in a
+remote learning environment. Today, schools also face challenges to
+reopening classrooms for students with disabilities, who may be more
+vulnerable to the virus. For example, the NAEP 2021 Survey shows that
+40 percent of schools prioritized students with disabilities for full-
+time in-person instruction in the 4th and 8th grades. Yet, students
+with disabilities have not received in-person instruction at rates
+noticeably higher than other subgroups of students.
+ These continued disparities make clear that, to ensure that all
+schools and students recover from this pandemic, we must target relief
+and resources to underserved students who need them most.
+ Over the past year, Congress has taken historic steps toward that
+goal through three major relief packages:
+
+ the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or
+ CARES Act,
+
+ the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental
+ Appropriations Act, and most recently,
+
+ the American Rescue Plan Act.
+
+ Combined, these packages secured nearly $200 billion in urgent
+relief for schools. The funding has been critical for covering the
+increased costs of the pandemic and preparing for the $300 billion
+shortfall in State and local budgets. To date, reduced State revenue
+has already cost more than a million education jobs.
+ The American Rescue Plan, specifically, makes the most significant
+one-time investment in K-12 education in our Nation's history. Under
+President Biden, Congress swiftly passed this legislation after school
+communities spent months calling for additional funding to reopen
+schools safely and support students.
+ The nearly $130 billion of flexible funding in this package will
+help schools take the necessary steps to safely reopen and stay open.
+And it will help students overcome lost time in the classroom as well
+as severe trauma, hunger, and homelessness.
+ The American Rescue Plan funding will also help Congress fulfill
+its long-standing commitment to meeting the needs of students with
+disabilities. Specifically, the package dedicates $3 billion to ensure
+that K-12 students with disabilities can access the free and
+appropriate public education they have a right to, and toddlers with
+disabilities can access the services they need to be ready to enter the
+school system.
+ The lessons from our pandemic response so far have provided a
+valuable foundation for Congress to take the next steps toward
+educational equity.
+ For example, we need accurate data from statewide assessments to
+understand the full scope of this pandemic. Without this data, we
+cannot accurately target relief funding to support school communities
+where racial achievement gaps are greatest.
+ We must also make systemic reforms to our K-12 education system to
+fully address educational disparities. This includes repairing
+crumbling school infrastructure, confronting the growing resegregation
+of public schools, and making other long-term investments to address
+educational disparities.
+ Today, we will discuss the work we still have ahead to close
+persistent achievement gaps and ensure a recovery from this pandemic
+where every student succeeds.
+ ______
+
+ Mr. Owens. Mr. Chairman I will take that, Ranking Member.
+Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thanks to all our witnesses for
+joining us.
+ Chairman Sablan. Could the gentlemen suspend for a minute?
+ Mr. Owens. Yes.
+ Chairman Sablan. Dr. Foxx will make her opening statement.
+She's just trying to unmute herself. Dr. Foxx there should be--
+the microphone should be on your lower right-hand if you're
+using a computer. Yes left-hand corner facing you Dr. Foxx.
+ Ms. Foxx. Banyan can you hear me?
+ Mr. Scott. Yes, yes.
+ Ms. Foxx. I have no sound.
+ Chairman Sablan. Dr. Foxx I apologize. Mr. Owens is
+actually going to make his opening statements and then on the
+questioning you're going to be ahead of Mr. Owens, so I
+apologize, my mistake, so we'll go back and recognize Mr. Owens
+please.
+ Mr. Owens. Thank you.
+ Chairman Sablan. Thank you Dr. Foxx, thank you.
+ Ms. Foxx. Thank you.
+ Chairman Sablan. Mr. Owens you have five minutes sir.
+ Mr. Owens. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thanks for our
+witnesses for joining us. And shouldn't all children have
+opportunities to achieve the American dream? It must never be a
+partisan issue. All students, regardless of zip code or socio-
+economic status should have the freedom to attend the school
+that meets their unique needs setting them up for lifelong
+success.
+ I grew up in the deep south in a touch with Jim Crow and
+the KKK. Racial segregation and inequities in education are not
+just chapters in a history book for me. I lived and experienced
+them first-hand. I'm the child of educators. My father received
+his Ph.D. from Ohio State University and taught Agronomy at
+Florida A and M.
+ My mother was a junior high school teacher. I was taught
+from a young age of the importance of education and hard work.
+I firmly believe education is the key to unlocking our
+children's future across abilities. Tragically, the COVID-19
+pandemic has served as a major setback for K through 12
+students nationwide.
+ The purpose of today's hearing might be to discuss
+educational equity post COVID-19, but there can be no
+educational equity when classroom doors remain shut. Too many
+poor families, many of them students of color, as well as those
+with disabilities, have been left with no educational options
+other than to wait on the bureaucrats to--[inaudible]--vote
+upon the science and reopen schools.
+ The current administration and this Congress have failed
+these families. Every day our inaction worsens the education
+disparities in our communities, which over time will contribute
+to widening opportunities and wealth gaps. The best way to help
+struggling families is to give them more freedom to make
+choices for their children's education, not by shutting them
+out of schools and closing doors of great opportunities.
+ While numerous states and schools have listened to the
+science and implemented proper safety precautions to offer
+students and families safe, in-person instructions, too many
+students are trapped in school districts that refuse to reopen,
+causing irreversible harm to our Nation's children.
+ This is far from equity, and we must do better. That's why
+House Republicans called for a bipartisan investigation into
+the effects that school closures are having on children with
+disabilities. In a letter to Chairmen Clayton, Maloney, Scott
+and Pallone, my fellow Republicans wrote, and I quote,
+``Students with disabilities are falling behind. States and
+localities are not meeting even the minimum requirements.
+ If States and localities are violating Federal civil right
+laws to the detriment of students, they must be investigated,
+and their actions corrected.'' Closed classrooms have also
+increased mental health problems among the students. CDC data
+shows that mental health visits to the emergency room increased
+by 24 and 31 percent with children from March to October of
+last year.
+ Additionally, 2020 analysis by McKenzie and Company
+estimates that children of color may lose up to 1 year of
+learning compared to white students losing 4 to 8 months, with
+an average overall learning loss of 9 months.
+ These numbers are jaw-dropping. We cannot allow future
+generations to fall further behind while the Biden
+Administration tiptoes around the radical demands of teacher
+unions. Embarrassingly, the United Teachers of Los Angeles,
+UTLA, demanded a host of left-wing priorities such as Medicare
+for all, defunding the police, wealth, and millionaire taxes,
+at least 50 billion in school nationwide, housing security and
+security to school moratorium and a safety requisites in our
+in-person return to schools.
+ But rather than address these outrageous wish lists, which
+have nothing to do with reopening schools, the Democrats have
+claimed that we all want schools to reopen. Their actions, or
+lack thereof, speaks louder than words. In addition, the Biden
+Administration seems to change their tune daily on reopening
+schools.
+ Even the Washington Post labeled their messaging as a
+muddled mess. Let's follow the science. Last week the CDC
+reversed its course on six feet of social distancing, admitting
+that their previous guideline was politically motivated. This
+comes after CDC Director Walensky's statement that schools
+could reopen before all teachers are vaccinated, a statement
+that was later reversed because of the pressures from teachers?
+unions.
+ Like the CDC, congressional Democrats are willing to bend
+the facts on their crusade to politicize our children's
+education. Democrats ran through their so-called CDC relief
+bill, even though this body had already allocated significantly
+more funding than the CDC said was necessary to safely reopen
+schools.
+ Even worse, the funds appropriated through this partisan
+legislation have nothing to do with reopening schools this
+spring. The data is clear. The longer the schools stay closed,
+the further our children fall behind, particularly those in
+disadvantaged groups. Yet the Biden Administration and
+Democrats continue to prioritize unions over students, and
+politics over science.
+ This is no way to lead our country through this
+unprecedented crisis. This is no way to chart a path forward
+toward educational equality. The science is clear, Congress
+provided an abundance of funding, yet children are still stuck
+learning behind a screen, forcing our youngest and most
+vulnerable to overcome insurmountable barriers to success.
+ For far too long Congress has bitterly divided on partisan
+lines. Our kids deserve better. I hope we can come together,
+not as Republicans and Democrats, but as parents, grandparents,
+and patriotic Americans to put the well-being of our children
+first. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today,
+particularly Mrs. Jennifer Dale, who will offer testimonies on
+her testimony, with harmful and lengthy school closures and how
+it has impacted her family.
+ Thank you Mr. Chairman and I yield back.
+ [The statement of Ranking Member Owens follows:]
+
+Statement of Hon. Burgess Owens, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Early
+ Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education
+
+ Ensuring all children have opportunities to achieve the American
+Dream must never be a partisan issue. All students--regardless of zip
+code or socioeconomic status--should have the freedom to attend the
+school that meets their unique needs, setting them up for lifelong
+success.
+ I grew up in the deep South during the time of Jim Crow and the
+KKK. Racial segregation and inequities in education are not just
+chapters in a history book to me--I've lived and experienced them
+firsthand. I'm the child of educators--my father received his Ph.D.
+from The Ohio State University and taught Agronomy at Florida A&M, my
+mother was a middle school teacher. I was taught from a young age the
+importance of education and hard work. I firmly believe education is
+the key to unlocking our children's future of possibilities.
+ Tragically, the COVID-19 pandemic has served as a major setback for
+K-12 students nationwide. The purpose of today's hearing might be to
+discuss educational equity post-COVID-19, but there can be no
+educational equity when classroom doors remain shut.
+ Too many poor families, many of them, students of color as well as
+those with disabilities, have been left with no educational option
+other than to wait on bureaucrats to follow the science and reopen
+schools. The Biden administration and this Congress have failed these
+families. Every day, our inaction worsens the educational disparities
+in our communities, which over time will also contribute to widening
+opportunity and wealth gaps. The best way to help struggling families
+is
+ to give them more freedom to make choices for their children's
+education, not by shutting them out of schools and closing doors to
+greater opportunities.
+ While numerous states and schools have listened to the science and
+implemented proper safety precautions to offer students and families
+safe, in-person instruction, too many students are trapped in school
+districts that have refused to reopen, causing irreversible harm to our
+Nation's children.
+ This is far from equity and we must do better.
+ That's why House Republicans called for a bipartisan investigation
+into the effects school closures are having on children with
+disabilities. In a letter to Chairmen Clyburn, Maloney, Scott, and
+Pallone, my fellow Republicans wrote, 'Students with disabilities are
+falling behind. States and localities are not meeting even the minimal
+requirements? If states or localities are violating Federal civil
+rights laws to the detriment of students, they must be investigated,
+and their actions corrected.'
+ Closed classrooms have also increased mental health problems among
+students. CDC data shows that mental health visits to the emergency
+room increased between 24 and 31 percent for children from March to
+October of last year.
+ Additionally, a 2020 analysis by McKinsey and Company estimates
+that children of color may lose up to one year of learning compared to
+white students losing four to 8 months, with an average overall
+learning loss of nine months.
+ These numbers are jaw-dropping.
+ We cannot allow future generations to fall further behind while the
+Biden administration tiptoes around the radical demands of teachers
+unions.
+ Embarrassingly, the United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) demanded
+a host of left wing priorities such as Medicare for All, defunding the
+police, wealth and millionaire taxes, at least $500 billion for schools
+nationwide, housing security, and a charter school moratorium, as
+'safety' prerequisites for their in-person return to school.
+ But rather than address this outrageous wish list which has nothing
+to do with reopening schools, Democrats will claim that 'we all want
+schools to reopen.' Their actions, or lack thereof, speak louder than
+their words. In addition, the Biden administration seems to change
+their tune daily on reopening
+ schools. Even the Washington Post labeled their messaging a
+'muddled mess.'
+ Let's follow the science. Just last week, the CDC reversed its
+course on six feet of social distancing, admitting that their previous
+guidance was politically motivated. This comes after CDC Director
+Walensky's statement that schools could reopen before all teachers are
+vaccinated, a statement that was later reversed because of pressure
+from teachers unions.
+ Like the CDC, congressional Democrats are willing to bend the facts
+on their crusade to politicize our children's education. Democrats
+rammed through their so-called COVID relief bill even though this body
+had already allocated significantly more funding than the CDC said was
+necessary to safely reopen schools. Even worse, the funds appropriated
+through that partisan legislation have nothing to do with reopening
+schools this spring.
+ The data is clear: the longer schools stay closed the further
+children will fall behind, particularly those in disadvantaged groups.
+Yet the Biden administration and Democrats continue to prioritize
+unions over students and politics over science. This is no way to lead
+our Nation through an unprecedented crisis. This is no way to chart a
+path toward educational equity.
+ The science is clear. Congress provided an abundance of funding.
+Yet, children are still stuck learning from behind a screen, forcing
+our youngest and most vulnerable to overcome insurmountable barriers to
+success. For far too long, Congress has been bitterly divided along
+partisan lines. Our kids deserve better. I hope we can come together
+not as Republicans and Democrats, but as parents, grandparents, and
+patriotic Americans to put the well-being of our children first.
+ I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today, particularly
+Mrs. Jennifer Dale, who will offer testimony on her experiences with
+harmful and lengthy school closures and how it has impacted her family.
+ ______
+
+ Chairman Sablan. Thank you very much Mr. Owens for your
+statement. I would just like to say that here on the ground,
+the CARES Act and the American Rescue Act, there's a lot of
+teachers to come back to 40-hour work weeks, and schools
+actually reopened for face to face instructions, and they're
+now in the process of making plans for summer schools,
+identifying students who need help and bringing them into
+summer schools, but thank you for your statement anyway.
+ Without objection, all other Members who wish to insert
+written statements into the record may do so by submitting them
+to the Committee Clerk electronically in Microsoft Word format
+by 5 p.m. on May 8, 2021.
+ I will now introduce the witnesses. Marc H. Morial, is
+President and CEO of the National Urban League, the Nation's
+largest historic civil rights and urban advocacy organization.
+He served as the highly successful and popular Mayor of New
+Orleans, as well as the President of the United States
+Conference of Mayors.
+ He previously was a Louisiana State Senator and was an
+attorney in New Orleans. He's a living voice on the national
+stage in the battle for jobs, education, policy and voting
+right equity. He's a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania
+with a degree in economics and African-American studies and
+holds a law degree from Georgetown University.
+ I think the livestream, the Chair has been informed that
+the livestream is down, and House will require that we suspend
+until it is back up, so we will pause momentarily. Members and
+witnesses should maintain the connection to the platform as the
+hearing will continue as soon as livestream is back up.
+ [Suspension]
+ I was introducing the witnesses, and I think I was just
+saying that Mr. Morial has also got a law degree from
+Georgetown University.
+ Ms. Jennifer Dale is a mother of three school-age children
+and resides in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Oh, my great grandchildren
+live there too. In her community Miss Dale is active in
+volunteering with non-profits that service children of people
+with disabilities, including serving on the Board of Community
+which supports independence for people with disabilities in
+employment and housing.
+ Last fall Ms. Dale formed a group with other families in
+the community to push for the return to in-person instructions.
+Her group, Clack to School named after Clackamas County, has
+worked with Let Them Play, Let Oregon Learn and opening PDX to
+become the largest coalition of families advocating to reopen
+schools which number 35,000 families state-wide.
+ Selene Almazan, I hope I got that right, is the Legal
+Director for the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates,
+COPAA. COPAA started as a school membership and training
+organization for attorneys and advocated for parents to find
+the help they needed to fight for the rights of their children
+and now is nationally recognized for harnessing the strength
+and determination of family attorneys advocates related
+professional and students.
+ Ms. Almazan has represented students with families for over
+30 years, and in addition to her work with COPAA, maintains a
+private practice focusing on student representation in special
+education matters, and matters involving violations of the
+Individuals With Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act of
+1973.
+ She has extensive experience training families, teachers,
+school administrators, attorneys and advocates on legal issues
+related to special education law as well as disability
+discrimination issues.
+ I am pleased to recognize my colleague, Representative
+Frederica Wilson to briefly introduce her constituent who's
+appearing before us as a witness today. I yield 30 seconds to
+Ms. Wilson to introduce the witness please. Ms. Wilson, yes
+Frederica please. I think you need to unmute your microphone. I
+can't hear you. Can you hear me Frederica, nod if you can?
+ Ms. Wilson. I hear you.
+ Chairman Sablan. OK, oh now I hear you too. Let's go.
+Introduce your witness please.
+ Ms. Wilson. Good afternoon. Thank you, Chairman Sablan. I
+am so proud to introduce my friend, 5000 Role Model Mentor and
+Miami-Dade County Public School Superintendent Alberto
+Carvalho. He is the best. And Miami-Dade County Public Schools
+are open for business and have been for a long time. Children
+attend according to parental choice.
+ He has served as Superintendent of Miami-Dade Public
+Schools, the Nation's fourth largest school system since
+September 2008, a record of exemplary service. He is a
+nationally recognized expert on education, transformation,
+finance, and leadership development.
+ During his tenure Miami-Dade County Public Schools has
+become one of the Nation's highest performing urban schools.
+And because of the 5,000 Role Models, black boys outperform
+their counterparts in other urban districts. The district has
+also been named as a 2014 College Board Advance Placement
+Equity and Excellence District of the Year, as well as the 2012
+winner of the Board prize for urban education.
+ Mr. Carvalho serves on the National Assessment Governing
+Board. He also serves as a committee Member of the National
+Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, and as an
+advisory committee Member to the Harvard Program on Education,
+Policy and Governance. Welcome to the Education and Labor
+Committee Superintendent Carvalho, all the way from Miami-Dade.
+We're looking forward to your testimony.
+ Thank you Mr. Chairman and I yield back.
+ Chairman Sablan. Thank you, Ms. Wilson, and to the
+witnesses again welcome and good afternoon. We appreciate the
+witnesses that are here participating today and look forward to
+your testimony. Let me remind the witnesses that we have read
+your written statements and they will appear in full in the
+hearing record. Pursuant to Committee Rule 8(d) and committee
+practice, each of you is asked to please limit your oral
+presentation to a five-minute summary of the written statement.
+ I also remind the witnesses that pursuit to Title XVIII of
+the United States Code, Section 1001, it is illegal to
+knowingly and willfully falsify any statement, representation,
+writing, document, or material fact presented to Congress or
+otherwise conceal or cover up a material fact.
+ Before you begin your testimony, please remember to unmute
+your microphone. During your testimony staff will be keeping
+track of time and a timer will sound with staff when time is
+up. Please be attentive to the time, wrap up when your time is
+over and remute your microphone.
+ If any of you experience technical difficulties during your
+testimony, or later in the hearing, you should stay connected
+on the platform, make sure you are muted and use your phone to
+immediately call the committee's IT director whose number was
+provided to you in advance.
+ We will let all the witnesses make their presentations
+before we move to Member questions. When answering a question
+please remember to unmute your microphone. And I will first
+recognize Marc Morial please. Mr. Morial you have five minutes.
+
+ STATEMENT OF MARC H. MORIAL, JD, PRESIDENT AND CEO, NATIONAL
+ URBAN LEAGUE
+
+ Mr. Morial. Thank you very much Mr. Chairman and to Ranking
+Member Owens, and to each Member of the subcommittee. Thank
+you, it's always an honor to appear before elected
+representatives. I also want to acknowledge the leadership of
+Chairman Scott, with whom we worked for many, many years.
+ I am President of the National Urban League. I'm also the
+father of three, and the son of a second-grade teacher. So, the
+issues that you are considering today are most important to me.
+The National Urban League serves children in this Nation, in 90
+communities, 90 affiliates serving 300 communities, in 36
+states.
+ We provide out of time, or after school services to
+hundreds of thousands of young people each and every year. At
+the community level we are advocates. We are advocates of both
+excellence and equity, and have been actively involved in
+ensuring the successful implementation of the Every Student
+Succeeds Act, adopted by the Congress several years ago.
+ And I appreciate the opportunity to share just for a moment
+our perspective on the path to educational equity in this
+COVID-19 environment. Regrettably, black and brown children
+have faced a disproportionate burden as a result of this
+pandemic. Black people are more likely to contract, be
+hospitalized, and die from COVID-19.
+ Black workers are more likely to be in fields with the most
+lay-offs due to the pandemic. Black children are far more
+likely than their white counterparts to lack the internet
+access and the devices necessary to receive adequate, remote
+instruction, a term we call the homework gap.
+ Information that we receive from communities across the
+Nation indicate that as many as 20 to 40 percent of children in
+many urban school districts have been completely cutoff from
+learning since the pandemic has begun. Now this is on top of
+the systemic inequities that we all are aware of and we're
+trying to solve, and this is not unique to this pandemic.
+ Jim Crow, the language discrimination and segregation,
+created a long-standing second-class system of education for
+children in America. I am a son of the south. The schools I
+attended were integrated the first years that I attended those
+schools. Before Brown versus the Board of Education in 1954, it
+was not uncommon for black fourth grade students to use white,
+second grade hand me down textbooks.
+ This history, coupled with the ways by which too many
+students of color have born the brunt of this pandemic, have
+resulted in black and Latino students losing an average of 10
+months of instruction.
+ Since the pandemic began and interrupted in-person teaching
+and learning, compared to an average of 6 months lost for
+instruction for white students, all of our students have lost
+instructional time due to this pandemic. Now I want to thank
+the President and the Members of the House and Senate who voted
+for the American Rescue Plan, which among many needed supports
+includes the largest Federal investment in our Nation's
+history.
+ And as we look at how COVID-19 has widened opportunity
+gaps, it is the American Rescue Plan that provides the long
+overdue support needed for schools to be able to reopen safely,
+for schools to be able to reintroduce students to in-person
+instruction, and to do it in a way that is neither haphazard,
+nor risky, nor knee-jerk.
+ Now those investments should support development and growth
+of students grounded in the principles of equity. What do I
+mean? Mental health supports, devices, and internet connections
+to close a homework gap, extended learning opportunities,
+rigorous course work for students of color and low-income
+students, diverse and qualified teachers and school leaders,
+restorative practices, social-emotional learning, and positive
+behavioral support.
+ These are the types of things with this investment the
+schools of America should do in order to address the challenges
+and to the important goal of equity. Now to effectively
+leverage these resources we need a reliable measure of what our
+children know.
+ State-wide assessments provide parents and caregivers with
+accurate information about how their students are performing on
+grade level standards. State-wide assessments are not a
+panacea. They're not a fool-proof method, but they're the best
+thing we have to know where our children are. I thank you for
+your focus on this issue and look forward to answering any
+questions. Thank you so much.
+ [The prepared statement of Mr. Morial follows:]
+
+ Prepared Statement of Marc Morial
+
+[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
+
+
+
+
+ Chairman Sabian. Thank you very much Mr. Morial. And I'd
+like now that we all hear from Ms. Jennifer Dale please, five
+minutes Ms. Dale, welcome.
+
+ STATEMENT OF MRS. JENNIFER DALE, PARENT
+
+ Mrs. Dale. Thank you. Thank you. Good afternoon, Chairman
+Sablan, Ranking Member Owens, and Members of the Early
+Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Committee.
+Thanks for inviting me to testify at today's hearing, ``Lessons
+Learned: Charting the Path to Educational Equity Post-COVID-
+19.''
+ I really appreciate the work you're doing and being invited
+to testify. I am the proud and grateful parent to three school-
+aged children. My oldest daughter Maddi is in the 7th grade,
+and she became a teenager this past February. My youngest child
+is Charlie, he's 8 years old and in the 2d grade.
+ My middle daughter is Lizzie, age 9 in the third grade, and
+she has Down Syndrome. But I'd like to focus most of my
+testimony on Lizzie, because I feel like she is a hidden victim
+of pandemic closures and policies and the prolonged school
+closures that have occurred.
+ Because of Lizzie and other students like her, I believe
+that school provide essential services to our communities and
+should have reopened in the fall of 2020. The pandemic-related
+shutdown of our school, the co-curricular activities and the
+youth sports caused major disruptions and destabilization for
+our children, many of whom could bear it the very least.
+ And whether it was their intended purpose or not, America's
+public schools from the basis of our communities and deliver
+services and experiences that really can't be obtained anywhere
+else.
+ For my daughter Lizzie, school is where she participates in
+physical education and recess. It's where she receives
+essential therapies such as speech and occupational therapy.
+School is where Lizzie spends time with friends forming a
+community bond, so it will ultimately lead to long-term
+relationships and potential job opportunities for her.
+ In her IEP, her learning specialist describes Lizzie as a
+3d grade student with a big heart, a great sense of humor, who
+enjoys playing with friends. She's a loyal friend who stands up
+for peers when they have been wronged or hurt. Lizzie loves to
+laugh and giggle, and she participates in soccer and dance, and
+can be a fierce competitor when it comes to sports.
+ In a typical year, Lizzie spends more than 80 percent of
+her day in the general education classroom. It is a seat that
+she has fought very hard to win and to keep. She rides our
+neighborhood school bus. She's greeted by friends at school who
+help walk her to class. They help her with hanging her backpack
+and make her lunch selection.
+ Over the years being included in the classroom has enabled
+Lizzie to learn these key routines and build a community for
+what she is part of the essential fabric. It's this community
+that she is loyal to. In a typical year, an educational aid
+supports Lizzie's general education by modifying her classwork
+and helping develop her reading and writing skills with hands
+on supports.
+ But as you know 2020 was not a typical year. Oregon's
+Governor rightfully shuttered school buildings last March a
+year ago, when we knew very little about COVID-19. But then the
+Governor's mandate kept our schools closed under metrics that
+were so hard to meet that the only path to reopening has been
+to change the metrics themselves, rather than meet the metrics.
+ Unfortunately, once schools closed, Lizzie's entire
+existence seemed to vanish from sight. No one could really see
+her but me, her father, and her siblings. No one could benefit
+from that fierce soccer competitor, or that friend who would
+bring you a band-aid when you are hurt.
+ No one could see my daughter Lizzie. When distance learning
+started in September, we were provided with a Chromebook and
+several Zoom links for a log-in to Google classroom. And like
+her peers, Lizzie was supposed to receive all of her
+instruction online.
+ But unlike her peers, Lizzie's learning online was not
+possible. She's still learning sight words, learning to type on
+a keyboard and learning to use a mouse. Lizzie's frustrations
+maxed out very quickly, and by the third week she had actually
+thrown away the Chromebook without us knowing and asked for a
+faraway school with her friends, which is what she called in-
+person learning.
+ For the last 7 months, Lizzie has not been a part of any
+general education classroom that we fought so hard for her to
+be in since kindergarten. She had to stop attending general
+education classes entirely because they were all delivered
+online.
+ Back in October I was beginning to wonder how other
+families were doing this, so I posted my concerns online. My
+posts formed the beginning of Oregon's grassroots back to
+school efforts, and a launch of numerous local advocacy groups.
+We have held rallies almost weekly, hosted Zoom town halls, and
+initiated massive email campaigns to share our research and the
+science on the safe reopening with school board Members,
+superintendents, and lawmakers.
+ For 1 year Lizzie has been denied all physical,
+occupational and speech therapies provided under her legal IEP
+because services are telehealth only, and they continue to be
+that way even after all educators have been vaccinated. She has
+been denied services mandated by her IEP.
+ Maybe this was a temporary experience and hardship for
+some, but not for Lizzie. And this week we completed the
+paperwork to hold her back in the third grade where she'll be
+forced to make all new friends.
+ Chairman Sablan. My goodness, such a wonderful story Ms.
+Dale. I must however--
+ Mrs. Dale. I understand, I understand.
+ Chairman Sablan. I want to continue.
+ Mrs. Dale. I will be grateful to answer any questions when
+you're ready.
+ Chairman Sablan. All right. Thank you, Ms. Dale, thank you
+very much.
+ [The prepared statement of Mrs. Jennifer Dale follows:]
+
+
+ Prepared Statement of Jennifer Dale
+
+
+
+
+ Chairman Sablan. And next we'll hear from Selene Almazan, I
+hope I do justice with that name. Ms. Almazan you have five
+minutes please.
+
+ STATEMENT OF SELENE A. ALMAZAN, ESQ., LEGAL DIRECTOR, COUNCIL
+ OF PARENT ATTORNEYS AND ADVOCATES, INC.
+
+ Ms. Almazan. Thank you. Good afternoon, Chairman Scott,
+Chairman Sablan, Ranking Member Foxx, Ranking Member Owens, and
+Members of the subcommittee. I am Selene Almazan, legal
+director for the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates,
+COPAA, and I am also a parent.
+ Two of my three children have disabilities and attended
+Maryland public schools. On behalf of COPAA I appreciate the
+opportunity to testify today.
+ COPAA is a national nonprofit organization of parents,
+attorneys, advocates, and related professionals who work to
+protect the civil rights and secure excellence in education on
+behalf of the 7.7 million children eligible for special
+education under the Individuals With Disabilities Education
+Act, IDEA, and the 1.4 million students with disabilities
+protected by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
+ I want to start with what equity is and why it matters.
+Equity and equality are not the same. While equality means
+treating every student the same, equity means making sure that
+every student has the support they need to be successful.
+Equity and education require putting systems in place to ensure
+that every child has an equal chance for success.
+ Our education and disability laws are civil rights laws,
+and you can see my written testimony for a full discussion of
+each. The IDEA was enacted in 1975 and it is a civil rights and
+access law which governs how states in U.S. territories provide
+early intervention and special education to eligible children
+from birth to age 21.
+ Section 5.04 prohibits discrimination and ensures equal
+access to an education for individuals with disabilities. The
+Americans With Disabilities Act is also critical to people and
+students with disabilities. The Elementary and Secondary
+Education Act, ESEA, promotes educational achievement and
+protects the interests of students, disadvantaged by poverty,
+disability, ethnicity, race, and other conditions that may
+limit occupational opportunity.
+ A few datapoints provide understanding of who children with
+disabilities are, and the statute of State funding to educate
+them. Students with disabilities represent 14 percent of public
+school enrollment. 74 percent of 4th grade students with
+disabilities scored below basic in reading in 2019, compared
+with 29 percent of students without disabilities.
+ Black students with disabilities represent 18 percent of
+students with disabilities, yet account for 35 percent of
+students with disabilities who are suspended or expelled from
+school. Congress has never come close to providing the IDEA
+funding promised to States.
+ And States offset billions annually, details are in my
+written testimony. The COVID-19 outbreak has placed a
+tremendous, unprecedented strain on States, districts,
+educators, families, and students. In spring 2020 you and other
+congressional champions helped ensure that Congress did not
+provide States the ability to waive the requirements and
+protections of the IDEA. Thank you.
+ This action, combined with guidance from the department
+reminding States and districts of their obligations to provide
+students with disabilities in education, helped steer several
+misguided districts, and a handful of states back into
+compliance. We do not believe however, that sufficient guidance
+has been provided on the issue of parents opting their children
+out of in-person schooling, as was done during the H1N1 virus.
+ Students may be medically fragile, live with a loved one
+who is, or have an intellectual disability that interferes with
+their ability to keep COVID-19 safety guidelines. No student
+should be deprived of IDEA services because the student's
+family or physician does not think it is safe to return to
+school.
+ COPAA formally asked the department to provide clarifying
+guidance last summer. This February, with 40 civil rights,
+disability, business, and educational organizations, COPAA
+thanked the department for the decision to uphold the ESEA and
+require States to conduct state-wide, annual assessments.
+ We said, 'Data on multiple measures are essential tools to
+address systemic inequities in our education system as well as
+to gauge the quality of instruction and support offered under
+COVID-19 restrictions.''
+ To ensure equity and support of America's students we make
+the following recommendations: Fully fund the IDEA and Title I
+of the ESEA and provide funds to help eliminate the shortages
+of counselors, social workers, nurses, school psychologists and
+well-trained fully certified special education teachers.
+ Provide oversight, so COVID-19 stimulus K to 12 funding
+includes and will also address the learning loss of students
+with disabilities. Support the department to help States
+administer summative state-wide assessments. Pass bills
+dedicated to improving school climate, and end the use of
+exclusionary discipline, including seclusion and restraint such
+as the Keeping All Students Safe Act, and provide oversight to
+ensure the department is equipped to enforce the equity in IDEA
+regulations.
+ We must ensure that all students impacted by COVID-19
+because of disability, race, ethnicity, foster care status,
+homelessness, and poverty, are given resources to recover
+learning losses and ensure equity for all. I look forward to
+your questions, thank you.
+ [The prepared statement of Ms. Selene A. Almazan, Esq.,
+follows:]
+
+ Prepared Statement of Selene A. Almazan
+
+[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
+
+
+ Chairman Sablan. Thank you. Thank you very much Miss.
+ And finally, we'll get to hear from Mr. Alberto M.
+Carvalho. Please sir you have five minutes.
+
+ STATEMENT OF ALBERTO M. CARVALHO, SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS,
+ MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
+
+ Mr. Carvalho. Thank you very much Chairman Sablan, Ranking
+Member Owens, and Members of the subcommittee. Thank you for
+the invitation to participate in this important hearing. A
+special salutation to my dearly beloved Congresswoman Wilson.
+ I am proud to say that Miami-Dade is one of the highest
+performing urban school systems in the Nation. We educate over
+340,000 students each year, 93 percent of whom are minority and
+over 70 percent poor. However, our students regularly perform
+as well or better than their peers in nearly every academic
+measure and have achieved the graduation rate of over 93
+percent during the pandemic.
+ The recent unprecedented Federal investments in education
+truly represent the potential to address long-term issues of
+academic equity in America. As our Nation moves to reopen
+schools, and I believe strongly that schools should and can
+open safely with the proper protocols in place, great care must
+be taken to address the needs of our most fragile children,
+children who are in poverty, children of color, children who
+are English language learners, and children with disabilities.
+We must move quickly, swiftly, and courageously to address the
+learning loss that students have experienced because of the
+disruptions to instruction created by this pandemic.
+ In our district, we have been transforming education and
+improving outcomes for all for well over a decade. And we did
+it by teaching and measuring what mattered and using the data
+to shine light into the dark gaps and places and drive
+improvement. We began with our youngest students creating high-
+quality, full day pre-K programs.
+ And then we looked to our secondary schools and found that
+opportunities were not always equal. So, we ensured that
+rigorous course offerings were available at every high and
+middle school, including AP courses, dual enrollment,
+Cambridge, and opportunities for acceleration for all.
+ We reinvigorated art, music and world languages, career
+technical education because all children have a right to an
+education that not only expands the mind, but also feeds the
+soul. We also implemented a tiered approach to providing the
+schools the supports they need, particularly those in greatest
+need, driving resources and wrap around services in a
+differentiated way to our most fragile and struggling schools
+and students.
+ And then finally, in 2012 we launched a digital initiative
+designed to integrate technology into all classrooms, to unlock
+the potential of digital content, empowering students and
+teachers as never before with individualized instruction. In
+essence, we eliminated the digital divide.
+ The result was a stunning improvement in graduation rates
+of over 30 percent, and an elimination of F rated schools in
+our district. All this work helped us prepare to rapidly
+respond to the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 in our school.
+On March 13, 2020, in-person schooling came to a halt, and we
+quickly pivoted to an online learning model.
+ We deployed 120,000 devices, more than 10,000 hotspots for
+connectivity, provided more than 30 professional development
+offerings to teachers to help support the transition to
+distance learning. Through constant communication and personal
+outreach to families, we achieved an impressive 93 percent
+average daily attendance rate during the school shutdown.
+ When we returned for the start of the 2021 school year, we
+briefly did what other districts across the country did. We
+opened 100 percent online, but with a plan, and an eye toward
+opening the schoolhouses soon as it could be done safely. We
+assembled a task force of public health and medical experts,
+including U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.
+ We sought guidance and recommendations for safely returning
+to in-person school. Under the guidance and leadership provided
+by our own school board, all facilities were sanitized,
+ventilation systems were improved, personal protective
+equipment distributed to all employees.
+ Schools were reconfigured with single directional hallways,
+social distancing in classrooms following the World Health
+Organization of one meter which is three feet three inches. A
+mandatory mask policy was implemented, and medical personnel
+deployed to all schools.
+ We also arranged for the distribution of infrared
+thermometers to all families, developed an employee health
+screening app, and launched a public facing COVID-19 dashboard,
+successfully partnered with our various employee organizations,
+and agreed to protocols, workplace conditions, and
+accommodations.
+ And on October 5, 2020, Miami-Dade County schools returned
+to in-person instruction 5 days a week at all schools for all
+students who wanted to return. We currently have about 50
+percent of our students physically attending schools while the
+balance has chosen to remain online.
+ This is in a district where we value choice. 74 percent of
+our students attend non-traditional programs. As I close, we
+have found that we have been able to navigate reopening safely,
+and that all schools have actually been safer than the
+community at large in terms of viral transmission.
+ Schools have always been and remain a safe haven for many
+who do not have a supportive home environment, who may be
+alone, who many be abused or neglected. We know there is work
+ahead to address the trauma and learning loss experienced by
+these children caught up in this crisis. The infusion of
+funding provided by the Federal Government is critical to
+meeting all these needs, but all involved must be diligent and
+responsible in the deployment of these dollars.
+ These timely Federal investments must be used in a manner
+that ensures improved academic achievement, operational
+efficiency, and fiscal responsibility.
+ [The prepared statement of Mr. Alberto M. Carvalho
+follows:]
+
+
+ Prepared Statement of Alberto M. Carvalho
+
+[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
+
+
+
+ Chairman Sablan. Thank you. Thank you very much Mr.
+Carvalho. It just breaks my heart that I have to interrupt all
+our witnesses who have great ideas, so I need to do so. And so,
+we now turn to our Member questions.
+ Under Committee Rule 9(a), we will now question witnesses
+under the five-minute rule. So, I will be recognizing
+subcommittee Members in seniority order.
+ And again, to ensure that the Members' five-minute rule is
+adhered to, staff will be keeping track of time and the timer
+will sound when time has expired. Please be attentive to the
+time. Wrap up when your time is over and remute your
+microphone.
+ I will begin with myself, and as chairman, I will now
+recognize myself for five minutes.
+ On the CARES Act, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief Supplemental
+Corporations Act, and the American Rescue Plan, collectively
+appropriated nearly 200 billion dollars in grant aid to public
+schools across the country and allocated these funds by a Title
+I formula to ensure funds are targeted to where they are most
+needed.
+ I know here in my district far away in the Northern Mariana
+where it is said that if I dig straight down I would land up in
+Florida somewhere, but we were able to bring teachers where
+reduced hours, 32 hours a week, but we are able now to bring
+them back 40-hour weeks and start face to face instructions as
+well.
+ But Superintendent Carvalho, why is it important that these
+funds from this Coronavirus aid package, why is it important
+that these funds were allocated primarily to high poverty
+schools like my district for example?
+ Mr. Carvalho. Well Mr. Chairman for the reasons that you
+addressed, obviously as believers in equitable practices we
+recognize that not every child, not every school is facing the
+same challenges. And with varying levels of challenge the
+funding needs to in a differentiated way be appropriated and
+delivered to directly support the needs of students and schools
+that face the greatest gaps.
+ And in our district, a district that is over 90 percent
+minority with a significant number of English language
+learners, where 11-12 percent of our children have one or more
+disability. We know where the need is. So, the distribution of
+funding following a Title I methodology is appropriate because
+it begins with a recognition where the greatest need is.
+ And in our district obviously we have earmarked and
+designated those dollars, and we have already spent 70 percent
+of the first ESSER allocation. We have designated and
+appropriated these dollars in what makes sense.
+ Look, we know that addressing the health and safety of our
+students and workforce, addressing academic acceleration,
+simultaneously providing social emotional support, all in
+unrecurring investments must be leaders in our consideration.
+Enhanced summer programming, extended day, week, or year, after
+school tutorial programs, and the improvements to the physical
+facilities which have deteriorated over time, particularly in
+the poorest communities.
+ So, the HVAC system replacements, the sanitization upgrades
+to maintain good indoor air quality, all of those were
+necessary investments, and those investments must begin with
+the children of America who were in crisis before the COVID-19
+crisis began.
+ Chairman Sablan. Thank you, Mr. Carvalho. Actually, you
+answered my second question as well, so I'm going to now turn
+to Ms. Almazan. Ms. Almazan in light of the challenges that
+students with disabilities face during the pandemic, it's
+enough that they face these challenges, even pre-pandemic.
+ In the additional funds provided by the American Recovery
+Rescue Plan, what are steps the schools can take now to ensure
+that all eligible students receive a free appropriate public
+education, even the need for appropriate COVID-19 precautions?
+ Ms. Almazan. Thank you for the question, Chairman Sablan.
+The issue of free appropriate public education for students
+with disabilities remains the requirement and a commitment that
+all school districts and states have to comply with.
+ There have been no waivers during this time of the school
+closures. The question that's weighing heavily right now on
+many school districts and States is the idea of how we are
+going to make up for the learning loss that students suffered
+and the denial of a free appropriate public education because
+they did not get all of the services that are listed in their
+individualized education program, their IEP during that time.
+ And central to that, you know, we do believe is the issue
+of end of the year assessments. You know with the leadership of
+the Urban League, we agree that the end of year assessments,
+particularly in reading and math are going to inform the
+conversation of what kinds of compensatory education services
+students are going to need.
+ Compensatory education is an equitable remedy, not to get
+too much into the weeds, but it's an equitable remedy that is
+formed by courts to place a child with a disability in the
+position that they would have been in except for the denial,
+the educational loss, and not receiving all the services that
+they were supposed to receive, particularly during COVID-19.
+ Chairman Sablan. OK. All right. I must cut you off, my time
+is up, but thank you for. I also once chaired the State
+Rehabilitation Advisory Council and have some idea of the IEP
+standard for students, particularly. My son is a teacher, so I
+do get first-hand experience, but thank you very much.
+ I will now yield to the Ranking Member of the Full
+Committee Dr. Foxx for five minutes of your question please,
+Dr. Foxx.
+ Ms. Foxx. Thank you, Chairman Sablan. I want to thank all
+of the witnesses for being with us today. You've presented some
+interesting things I'd like to comment on later if I can. Mrs.
+Dale thank you for your testimony and thank you for fighting
+for Lizzie and all the children in Oregon.
+ Your story is inspiring. One thing we've heard over and
+over again from teachers? unions and others who have fought
+against families like yours, to keep schools closed, is it
+simply isn't safe to reopen. Even the Biden Administration CDC
+has said that reopening most schools to most students is
+unsafe.
+ In your written testimony you made reference to sharing
+research on safe re-openings with State and local leaders. Do
+you believe that science indicates that schools can reopen
+safely? And how did those States and local leaders respond to
+that science?
+ Mrs. Dale. Thank you for your question, Dr. Foxx. I over
+the last, since September we've seen studies and the groups
+that I've been a part of have worked really hard to review the
+different information from the CDC, from the WHO, from American
+Academy of Pediatrics, in helping to inform, you know, whether
+or not it's safe to return.
+ A lot of--Emily Oster and a study out of North Carolina,
+several studies came out to indicate that you know there was a
+safe way to return to school, and we know that there's a safe
+way to do that by wearing masks, and social distancing. So
+those are the kinds of things that we have written to our local
+lawmakers and to decisionmakers here, like the Oregon
+Department of Education to say this is how other schools are
+safely reopening, and can we do this here in Oregon?
+ But their response generally was we've got to wait for case
+rates to come down, or we need to wait for the vaccine, and it
+felt like a lot of those goalposts sort of kept moving, and
+kept moving, and kept changing even though we were able to see
+schools in other countries and schools in other locations open.
+ Ms. Foxx. Yes, and it's interesting to me that you're in
+one of the most political states in the country, and all these
+people profess that they care about children. Everybody on this
+panel, all the witnesses care about children. They've been
+given billions of dollars, and yet they won't open the schools.
+ It's the worst hypocrisy I've ever seen. You also said in
+your testimony you plan to have Lizzie repeat third grade. And
+I heard what you said. She has to make a whole new set of
+friends. That's difficult for any child, any child. Can you
+tell us more about what led you to that decision, and if you
+think that decision would have been necessary if the schools
+had reopened when it was safe to do so?
+ Mrs. Dale. We definitely wouldn't be having this
+conversation if the schools had reopened in September, and
+Lizzie had been able to join her cohort of friends that she has
+built actually since pre-kindergarten.
+ And the reason that we're having to make that decision now
+is that you know the online platform for schools is really a
+one size fits all. And I think some students have you know
+we've heard stories here in Oregon and elsewhere that some
+students have fared OK in that platform.
+ But many haven't and you know, over 80 percent of the kids
+here want to go back to in-person learning, and their families
+want to get those kids back to in-person learning. For Lizzie,
+I spent mornings with my arms literally wrapped around her
+stomach trying to keep her in front of a screen, and there was
+a teacher, an aide, and a learning specialist on the other side
+of the screen trying to help Lizzie with counting, and with
+writing and reading.
+ It isn't just it was a platform that was impossible. And
+so, we could either choose to spend our mornings in tears for
+two and a half hours, trying to learn over that platform, you
+know, with a child who didn't understand why her teacher had
+her muted, or why the other kids wouldn't wave to her and say
+hello, or we could--we just didn't have a choice.
+ I mean we couldn't just keep her staying you know involved
+and engaged in that platform. And I think that was for us what
+felt very overlooked in the guidance that was released about
+learning online is that children with cognitive disabilities,
+they're motivated by their peers.
+ They're assisted by their peers in learning. And when that
+isn't there online, their learning just doesn't happen. And so,
+she has 7 months of no general education.
+ Ms. Foxx. You have a great civil rights case on your hands
+based on the legislation of IDEA, based on the comments one of
+the other witnesses said.
+ Chairman Sablan. Thank you, thank you Dr. Foxx.
+ Ms. Foxx. Thank you, Chairman Sablan, thank you so much
+Mrs. Dale for being such a great model.
+ Chairman Sablan. Right, Ms. Dale thank you. Some of your
+statements are personal experiences that are just incredible. I
+hope we are going to eventually open up so I could come and
+visit my grand and my great grandkids also, so thank you.
+ Next, I'd like to recognize Mr. Yarmuth. Mr. Yarmuth you
+have five minutes sir.
+ Mr. Yarmuth. Well, thank you very much Mr. Chairman, and
+thanks to all the witnesses for their contributions today. I
+want to start by referencing something Mr. Owens said in his
+opening statement, and Mr. Owens I wanted to let you know that
+I was a New York Jets fan when you were playing for them.
+ I was also a registered Republican at the time, so I'm not
+sure what that says about either the Jets or the party. But I'm
+really concerned about this notion that the Democrats are
+somehow unconcerned about IDEA, and the students that are
+served through that program.
+ Both President Biden, and I know Speaker Pelosi and many
+others have said show me your budget and I'll understand your
+values. And I think that's very true. And in the American
+rescue plan we committed 3 billion dollars to IDEA, along with
+130 billion dollars for education overall, much of which can be
+used to support students with disabilities as well.
+ So, I think it's kind of disingenuous to question
+Democrat's commitment to IDEA when every Republican voted
+against that proposal, and not only voted against it, but I
+don't remember I was present for most of the debates, never one
+time saying that any portion of the American Rescue Plan was
+worth supporting.
+ So, I'm certainly, I think we always ought to oversee in
+Congress, any of the programs that we mandate. So, I'm not
+necessarily saying we shouldn't again take care that our money
+is being spent wisely and effectively, but again the hypocrisy
+here is pretty astounding.
+ And I also have to take issue with this weaponization of
+the idea of opening the schools. And I've heard it day after
+day after day for the last couple of months. The Republicans
+want States and localities to have control over things when it
+serves their political purposes, but when it doesn't, then all
+of a sudden, they want the government to mandate what the
+opened.
+ I was in a conversation last week with a superintendent of
+the Fleming County Kentucky School System. Fleming County,
+Kentucky is in the eastern part of the State, not in my
+district. It voted for Donald Trump 78 to 21, so it's certainly
+not a blue area. Their school system has 2,200 students. The
+superintendent, they opened school partially, I shouldn't say
+partially, on a voluntary basis last September, so before there
+was any CDC guidance on what was safe, and what wasn't safe.
+ They're still open now. About half of their students
+systemwide are actually attending in person. Those parents,
+those families made their decisions which I always thought was
+what Republicans thought was the appropriate thing to do.
+ This is a very complicated situation. We're all very much
+in uncharted territory and have been for a year now. So, I
+really resent all of this politicization that the notion that
+once again now because Democrats are in charge, we have to make
+everybody open schools.
+ When even when Donald Trump was in charge, that we ought to
+open all schools. I don't think that's the way this country
+works, and our families work. I do have one question I want to
+ask of Superintendent Carvalho. I don't know how much your
+school system is going to get, but I know based on what my
+school system is going to get, it's a lot of money.
+ And one of the things that we were criticized for
+throughout this debate was a very small percentage of this
+money is going to be spent this year, this year meaning over
+the next 6 months. As you contemplate using the funding that we
+provided to the American Rescue Plan to the Miami-Dade schools,
+where do you perceive the need being today versus next year or
+the year after, and things that you may do with that money
+during that period of time.
+ Chairman Sablan. I have 39 seconds for that Mr. Carvalho.
+ Mr. Carvalho. I'll be very quick. Thank you very much for
+the question. Certainly look, we're going to bucket into three
+areas. No. 1, continue to improve the environment of schools,
+sanitization, additional equipment, indoor quality
+improvements, capital projects.
+ Second, acceleration strategies to ensure that those who
+fell behind are able to catch up, not only to where they were
+prior to the crisis, but actually to their place, where they
+should be in accordance with their chronological age and grade
+level. This is not only about taking them to where they were
+prior to the COVID crisis.
+ And that's going to require massive amounts of investment.
+And before and after school programming, year around schooling,
+summer schooling, before and after programming, individual
+tutorial programs and individualized digital content to support
+them pedagogically as well as socially and emotionally. That's
+where the brunt of the investment is going to go.
+ Mr. Yarmuth. So, by definition that has to be done over
+time.
+ Mr. Carvalho. It will take some time. This is not going to
+necessarily be a sprint, but at the same time the more we wait,
+the more children will fall behind so it will be very swift
+based on the plans that we already have in place.
+ Chairman Sablan. Thank you. Thank you. And if it weren't
+for Mr. Yarmuth if it wasn't for your work in the American
+Rescue Plan, my schools would not be open for face-to-face
+instructions, and my teachers will still be going on 32 hours a
+week paid, so thank you, thank you. At this time, I recognize
+the Ranking Member of the subcommittee Mr. Owens. I had no idea
+you were a professional football player.
+ Mr. Owens. Thank you, thank you so much and I'll say for
+those still rooting for the Jets I tip my hat and I'm sorry to
+hear about the misery they were going through the last few
+years. Anyway, that being said, let me just say this. You know
+we just put another 130 billion dollars on this last bill. We
+already had money in there before, to make sure that our
+schools opened.
+ We haven't done nothing to spend. So, I think the question
+comes down to look at states like Utah. Utah, we opened up
+pretty quickly. We gave the power to the people to decide how
+we wanted to make sure that we can--businesses opened up,
+schools open. So, one of the leaders in the country as far as
+our economy coming back.
+ But I'm talking with kids in their schools every single
+day. And the problem is this. Across our country parents are
+the same. Our children are the same. We want to make sure that
+our kids are moving forward. So yes, you're right. We have to
+deal with the fact that there are different ways of approaching
+this.
+ It appears that the democratic states are the ones that are
+shutting things down. We have issues like this where our kids
+are literally, and those that are hurt the most are those at
+risk, those that are poor, and those are the ones that we are
+now fighting for. There should never be a process in which
+across our country we have such a disparity in terms of how
+we're dealing with something that is common between all of us.
+ So that being said, I want to say first of all to Mrs.
+Dale, thank you so much. There are no stronger advocates for
+children than their parents, and you truly are showing America
+what that looks like. We don't sit back and wait for others. We
+roll up our sleeves and go to work.
+ And thank you so much. You're old school parents, and there
+are a lot of parents across this country trying to figure out
+how they can do the same, so you're a great example for us.
+Mrs. Dale, again, thanks for sharing your story. Ranking Member
+Foxx asked what was learned about risk of reopening schools.
+ We know from the science that reopening schools is safe. We
+also know that it's not 100 percent risk free. Nothing in life
+is. Why would you say that whatever risks exists in sending
+your daughter back to school was with it, or do you think that
+it was well worth it to have to take some risk to make that
+happen?
+ Mrs. Dale. Yes. Thank you for the question Ranking Member.
+It's a true honor you know to advocate for my daughter in this
+manner and in this light. Because I feel like you know she
+doesn't have a voice always. And the risks, there's always a
+tradeoff. There's always some costs and benefits to the things
+that we do. My daughter with Downs Syndrome, I think you might
+know this.
+ If you have a cognitive disability, or developmental
+disability, you're generally in the 1-A group for example. No
+side effects, and if you get COVID-19 it does hit harder and it
+is more severe. But you know, the other side of that is having
+a disability, whether it's physical, whether it's a cognitive
+disability, it can be very isolating, it can be very lonely.
+ And for us the tradeoff was you know we saw her here at
+home very lonely, very isolated, not learning, not able to get
+onto a Google classroom and see friends and see peers each day.
+And that's just no way to live. There's no way to live a day or
+a year, or a week, or anything like that.
+ And so, what we really did as we went to work with the
+school, and said you know we know that masking, and we know
+that distancing works, and can you work with us to at least
+give her a couple of hours in person education? We can do some
+worksheets. I mean we worked really hard with the school to
+find some way of getting those doors back open.
+ In fact, she was the first person in her school district to
+return to school. And the tradeoff for us was just that living
+as isolated and lonely as that was, was just never going to be
+sustainable for our daughter and for our family. It's very sad,
+very sad.
+ Mr. Owens. Being raised by teachers myself I understand
+that. And let me say this. Your concerns you have, what you're
+going through has absolutely nothing to do with Medicare for
+all, defunding the police, wealth, and meeting your tax, 500
+billion dollars in school State loss nation-wide, housing
+security and a charter school moratorium.
+ And these are the things that would be demanded by our
+teachers? union so that young people, children like yours can
+actually go back to school. It should never, ever, come to that
+point, but we've been held hostage. For these types of things,
+it has nothing to do with our kids growing up and expressing
+the American dream and their future.
+ So, I want to thank you for that. I won't have time for
+another question, so I'm going to yield back, but thank you for
+everything you're doing. Really, really proud of you on this
+issue.
+ Mrs. Dale. Thank you for having me.
+ Chairman Sablan. Yes, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Owens. So
+next I'd like to recognize Ms. Wilson. Ms. Wilson you have five
+minutes please.
+ Ms. Wilson. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
+ Chairman Sablan. All right Federica.
+ Ms. Wilson. I just have to say to everyone, just be aware
+that we are in the middle of a pandemic. This is a health
+emergency that no one could ever, ever predict. And the one
+group of people who kept our children afloat were our teachers,
+because all schools had to shut down. And I've seen so many
+parents who have said to me now I respect the job of a teacher,
+and I will never again vote or try to advocate for anything but
+a raise for teachers, because they kept the boat afloat.
+ So, this whole pandemic has caused us to be able to peel
+back the layers I would say, on an onion, and we see so much
+disparities as we peel back the onion. I had one little boy say
+to me, I said I need you to take a picture for the newspaper,
+but I want you to sit at a desk. Sit at a table, in a chair,
+with a blank wall.
+ He said, ``Ms. Wilson, we don't have a table.'' I said you
+don't have a table in the whole house. Where do you eat? He
+said, ``We eat at the kitchen counter in shifts.'' So, I want
+to say that the money that was sent to the school districts,
+not only do we need to worry about what our superintendents are
+doing to make our schools safe, which is what they have done.
+ My school superintendent has done it. My neighboring
+schools superintendents have done it. Mr. Scott and I held
+briefings with teachers in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Alabama.
+And the disparities that we saw between those school districts.
+And Broward and Dade I can say I'm proud, Alabama.
+ So not only do we need--I want school districts across the
+Nation, including the two that I represent, to commit to using
+the Title I formulated money to give every Title I children a
+computer, a desk, and a Chair to take home in their homes
+because homework will not disappear. And broadband access will
+not disappear. And just having a quiet place to do your
+homework and everything else is so important, and I'm sure our
+superintendent and our parents and everyone else on this call
+agrees.
+ I just want to say tutoring--and we have all agreed, and
+our Superintendent Carvalho has said that summer school, we
+have the summer slide, we have the COVID slide, the COVID-19
+slide, and now the children just call it the 19. So that slide
+we have to close that achievement gap back, has exacerbated
+what we have seen for generations.
+ And all of the money that Democrats put in a bill that was
+not supported by one Republican, and my school district got one
+billion dollars. We expect to see a huge change and everyone,
+not only teachers and school districts, but the community has
+to work together to pull these children up.
+ I want to say that I heard Mr. Morial, how can these short-
+term resources be used to create the long-term systemic changes
+necessary to provide all students with equitable access to an
+excellent education. You talked about it in your remarks.
+ Mr. Morial. Yes, thank you very much. We've got to
+understand that Congress is to be commended for appropriating
+the additional money, but one of the equity issues that
+American schools face has been a severe resource gap,
+differential investments in schools with inner school district
+differential investments within schools from county to county,
+or district to district in a given State.
+ I think that each school district and the Miami
+Superintendent outlined his thought process, has to
+intelligently employ this additional money around proven
+strategies--evidence-based strategies. It may be reading
+coaches. It may be accelerated learning in the summertime.
+ It may be to provide every child with a Chromebook so that
+they can go home and even if they're in class, they're going to
+be doing homework, to provide those students with the resources
+that they need to be able to play catchup. We're going to be
+playing catchup.
+ What I do hope is that this investment would demonstrate
+why closing the resource gap amongst American public schools
+has to be the work not only of the Congress, but of the States
+and local schools districts because that's one of the
+fundamental issues that we face.
+ Chairman Sablan. Thank you very much. Ms. Wilson thank you
+very much. There was just an education summit just yesterday I
+think, and there is no disagreement among everyone that we need
+to get schools open, but there was also no disagreement among
+all the participants that we have to do it in a safe manner,
+that we're still reaching out in the dark in this pandemic, and
+it's dangerous because somebody could infect somebody, and you
+know we're talking here about not yourself, but we're talking
+about lives.
+ And so, we need to do this in a safe manner, and there's no
+disagreement just like we all want to go back into the
+committee room, we all want our children in schools, our
+students back to school. Some may do it faster, more quicker,
+some may take a little bit of time. We will get there, it takes
+work. And of course, it takes the resources that we just
+appropriated that nobody on the other side of the aisle
+supported but thank you.
+ I now will recognize Mr. Grothman, please sir you have five
+minutes sir.
+ Mr. Grothman. OK. I want to get through three quick
+questions here. The first question I am asking, in my area,
+there are several private schools, maybe Catholic schools,
+Christian schools, Lutheran schools what have you. They almost
+all seem to be open, and at least some of the larger public
+schools are closed.
+ Can anybody give me, any one of the four of you give me a
+reason as to why it seems that the private schools seem to stay
+open in disproportion to the public schools closed? Does
+anybody want to take a shot at that?
+ Mr. Carvalho. To the Chairman, I can tell as superintendent
+of the fourth largest school system in America we have had 100
+percent of our schools open on the basis of parental choice,
+since early October.
+ I can tell you that about 50 percent of the students in
+Miami-Dade attend school in a physical way. I can tell you also
+that we were very diligent in establishing all the protocols
+and the mitigating strategies, and the policies established by
+the board for the safe return of the students, and we were also
+diligent in the appropriate conversations with labor
+organizations for the workforce.
+ Mr. Grothman. I know you were. The question is why were
+others not open?
+ Mr. Carvalho. Well, I can tell you that we live in a time
+of high positivity rate in Miami-Dade. I think our
+instructional continuity plan and level of preparedness put us
+in a position of following science. And the science does put us
+in a position of being able to open schools.
+ Mrs. Dale. I can comment too as Congressman Grothman, I had
+to switch two of my children to private schools, so my daughter
+Lizzie with the disability remains in public school, and she's
+getting the fewest instructional hours out of any of my three
+children being in public school.
+ And my two children who have moved over to private school
+are now in full-time, in-person, and the challenge that we're
+facing right now with my daughter Lizzie receiving services is
+that there's in the contract for the teachers to come back to
+work, is a work from home condition, that has been--they've
+been unable to renegotiate.
+ So, I think that's been one of the biggest problems in our
+areas.
+ Mr. Grothman. Thank you, thank you. But it kind of
+surprised me because I think the public schools usually have
+more money, so it's a little bit surprising. Next question I
+have, I was looking at some of the money going out to Milwaukee
+and our poorer district, Milwaukee is getting funding, 63
+percent of their normal budget is coming in from the feds,
+whereas it looks like your average school district, Wisconsin
+10-15 percent, not even as much.
+ I realize there's a feeling out there that we have to give
+more money to the school districts with more kids in poverty.
+And of course, Milwaukee and Wisconsin already start by
+spending more money in the average district because, you know,
+we drain money across the more middle-class districts to fund
+Milwaukee.
+ But 63 percent compared to like 7 percent, 10 percent with
+the other schools, does that sound to you is a little excessive
+of a difference? Are we going overboard in flooding money at
+the more Title I districts?
+ Mr. Morial. Let me ask. No, not at all because the money is
+needed because of systemic inequities. When you talk about what
+do need should be the guide. And many of our urban school
+districts have been underfunded, and because they are, in urban
+areas
+ Mr. Grothman. I need to cut you off.
+ Mr. Morial. Please don't cut me off. Please don't cut me
+off. You asked me a question. I want to answer the question.
+And so, my point is, is that it's more than justified. The
+Title I formula was established in the 1960's and the
+additional funding that Congress appropriated following the
+Title I formula which is based on need.
+ Mr. Grothman. OK thank you. Final question. I noticed when
+you talk about your school districts, not just you, but
+everybody. We seem to talk about race, or we talk about
+poverty, and I sometimes think family structure maybe is more
+important than those. Can you tell me why the education
+establishment lays out what type of students we have?
+ We focus on people's ancestry you know, eight or nine
+generations ago, or we focus on money, but we don't focus
+around family structure. Would it be helpful if we also went to
+those statistics? Maybe I'll ask the guy from Miami-Dade that
+question.
+ Mr. Carvalho. Thank you, the guy from Miami-Dade is ready.
+Sir, I think that No. 1 a lot of the gaps, academic gaps that
+we deal with are proceeded by all sorts of social gaps, whether
+it's home insecurity, family instability, a lack of adequate
+access to food or home.
+ In Miami-Dade, I can tell you that we take into account all
+the elements that influence the child. That is why we developed
+a parent academy, which is a college to support parents to
+become an echo of education for their children.
+ We intensified at parent academy during the pandemic, to
+really assist parents in providing ideal educational
+environments in their homes during the school closure, ensuring
+that the parents had better knowledge of the devices and the
+digital content that their students were utilizing.
+ So, it's not an either/or, it's a recognition of all of the
+social gaps, the financial gaps that children fall into before
+they arrive at the schoolhouse.
+ Mr. Grothman. So, there's statistics even, you didn't
+collect the other statistics?
+ Mr. Carvalho. I'm sorry?
+ Mr. Grothman. To see how well you're doing. Do you collect
+the statistics by family background?
+ Mr. Carvalho. Certainly, for me it's actually more
+important, the statistics that others collect. So, I wear two
+hats. I'm superintendent of Miami-Dade, but I'm also a Member
+of the National Assessment of Educational Progress Board, and
+Miami-Dade's 4th graders, despite the level of poverty, despite
+the English language limitation, and despite the 11 percent
+that have one or more disability, according to the NAPE, the
+last administration of NAEP in reading and mathematics, NAEP
+TUDA, they are No. 1 in the country in 4th grade reading and
+mathematics.
+ So, schools with the appropriate supports through the
+diligence of leadership, data-driven strategies, and the
+incredible powerful work of teachers and visionary policy on
+the part of support, can in fact overcome some of those issues.
+ Chairman Sablan. I love the back and forth, but I must
+interject and recognize Mr. DeSaulnier next. Mr. DeSaulnier you
+have five minutes sir.
+ Mr. DeSaulnier. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for
+holding this hearing. Just a comment from the previous
+questions from the gentlemen from Wisconsin. In relation to my
+district here in the San Francisco Bay area, that used to be
+the former Chair of this committee, Congressman Miller, was in
+the Congress for 40 years.
+ Our district has some of the wealthiest districts, my
+district now in the San Francisco Bay area in California. And
+we have some of the poorest and some in between. And we've been
+working along with the current superintendent of public
+instruction in California and the previous one, both of whom
+came from this district, to try to deal with this disparity.
+ We worked very closely with Governor Brown when he did the
+local control formula that helped California move even more
+money under Title I, well consistent with Title I. So, the
+disparity of the family structure, we know the history across
+this country. And you've talked about it. And it's just
+frustrating to hear these conversations. We've been studying
+this for decades.
+ The pressure in my district on a single woman of color
+who's got kids prior to COVID, and the inequality in this
+country was already astronomical. So, there's the paleness
+that's not true in others, sort of shocking that we'd even talk
+about this now.
+ We know where the challenge is, and we know the benefit not
+just for that community that historically has been treated so
+poorly by this country in my view, but also the benefit to all
+of us if we invest in that community, and I'm very proud of
+that legislation that Congressman Thompson and I did on family
+engagement centers a couple sessions ago. So sorry for that
+editorial comment.
+ My question for the panel is we've got all of this that I
+just alluded to prior to COVID, and COVID of course had a
+disproportionate impact on these districts and the students. It
+strikes me that there's both a challenge and an opportunity. We
+already knew that single parent households in poor communities,
+and communities of color were very heavily challenged to get
+the kids to school, to get them in school, to get them support
+after school.
+ And all those wrap around services would have worked so
+hard for. And then you got COVID where Chairman Scott has
+talked about. Forty percent of the schools in this country
+don't have heating and air conditioning, so we've got to go
+back in and provide that infrastructure for the future of
+public health.
+ So, in that context maybe you could respond starting with
+the Superintendent of Miami. The challenges and opportunities
+of coming out of COVID, particularly for this affected
+community.
+ Mr. Carvalho. Thank you so much for the question. I'll try
+to be very brief. You know I think you touched on a very
+important point, let me reflect on the previous questions as
+well. Look, I think the strategy to accelerate students,
+particularly students who fall into those gaps that you
+described, to accelerate them to their full potential, we
+cannot simply restore their performance to what it was prior to
+the COVID crisis.
+ And we simultaneously cannot allow these investments which
+are so sorely needed. We cannot allow this to be looked upon as
+a time for opportunism, it's rather a time of opportunity. A
+time when we have an opportunity to as a nation provide
+solutions to long-term resource disparity and strategically
+invest in academic equity.
+ And for me, whether we're talking about the black, Latino
+communities, impoverished communities, students with
+disabilities, for me that requires strategic investment
+resources that follows yes, follows the condition of the child
+in the school. Otherwise, we will never reach equal results
+because the process of equity requires differentiated resource
+investment, depending on the condition.
+ Second, it requires family engagement, support for the
+communities. It requires additional time on task by the best
+teachers around us. That means summer sessions, spring break,
+we're going on spring break this coming week. There will be
+about 80 schools in Miami that will be holding session.
+ For some students social emotional support, pedagogical
+educational support throughout the summer, but also with arts
+and music access, so that they benefit from the experience. And
+last, you know, and this is still an issue across the country
+many places, the digital divide still keeps a lot of students,
+a lot of communities, a lot of parents to education that is
+bell to bell.
+ After the last bell there is a total level of
+disengagement. That is why we rushed to address the issue of
+eliminating the digital deserts for that condition to be
+eliminated, and our students can continue to learn after the
+last bell. And if the computer is home with connectivity, we
+can simultaneously address the needs--the long-term needs of
+parents.
+ Mr. DeSaulnier. Just Mr. Chairman one last thought.
+ Chairman Sablan. Thank you, OK, make it quick.
+ Mr. DeSaulnier. OK. One of the wealthiest school districts
+in my district, a third of their funding comes from the
+foundation, so the parents. So just this dichotomy I want to
+re-emphasize. Sorry to take so long Mr. Chairman. And nothing
+against the parents who have money contributing, but it
+demonstrates to me the challenge here in the dichotomy. Thank
+you, Mr. Chairman.
+ Chairman Sablan. Yes, thank you. Mr. Carvalho if you ever
+have a need for a job as school commissioner in my district, no
+wonder Ms. Wilson is so proud of you sir. Thank you. Now I'd
+like to recognize Mr. Allen please for five minutes, Mr. Allen.
+ Mr. Allen. Thank you Chairman and thank you to all of those
+with us today. Can you hear me?
+ Chairman Sablan. Yes sir, yes sir.
+ Mr. Allen. OK great.
+ Chairman Sablan. We're just happy to see you again.
+ Mr. Allen. Yes, happy to see you. Evidently, I got booted
+out of the Ranking Member on this committee, but somehow I got
+on another one, so I miss you. But K through 12 is very special
+to my heart, and it's been a difficult year.
+ Obviously, I pushed my district to reopen schools as well
+as pretty much the entire State of Georgia except maybe metro
+Atlanta, but we are open. I have 14 grandchildren and we have a
+special needs grandchild. She cannot walk. She cannot talk. She
+cannot sit up and she cannot feed herself and she's 4 years
+old.
+ But when I'm around she walks, come to me and she sits in
+my lap and hugs my neck and just smiles at me. She is
+absolutely the most precious grandchild that God could have
+given me. And I'm just tickled to death. And she's been in
+school off and on. They've had kids with COVID, and she's had
+to come home, and then she's had to go back.
+ And one time she was actually apparently very close to one
+of the children that had COVID or an adult, and I guess it was
+maybe one of the staff, and she's never had it. So, I guess
+she's asymptomatic. I don't know. But it's just amazing. She's
+an amazing child.
+ But obviously, it's been difficult. And I want to say thank
+you to all of our educators who I mean you know there were two
+ways to go with this thing. We could either surrender, or we
+could fight. And you know at least the educators that I know
+very closely and what I've heard here as testimony today, you
+all are fighting. You're in harm's way. You're doing it for the
+kids.
+ We have people in the food business that do that. People in
+the healthcare business have done that. A lot of Americans have
+stepped up and kept this thing going through unprecedented
+time. Ms. Dale your story is amazing. And you described that
+you had covered your concerns, but you heard from other
+parents, especially those having children with needs, some like
+your daughter's.
+ Can you describe why you went public with that?
+ Mrs. Dale. Yes. I don't think I had a choice. I think that
+my daughter Lizzie, she wasn't going to learn at all this year
+unless we did something, unless we said something to the
+district, and to our State leaders that what was going on.
+ And I think that as you might know, you know, during COVID,
+all of us parents felt like what was going on in our homes was
+so private and none of us wanted to fail, and so none of us
+said anything until sort of looking around and saying wait,
+that's happening with you too?
+ Or you're having a hard time too? And so as soon as one
+person spoke up and said this was difficult for me it enabled a
+lot of other parents to speak up and say I'm having a really
+hard time with my kids too, and it's kind of embarrassing. It's
+a feeling of failure, but then other families trying to get the
+resources for their kids, we get specially designed instruction
+for my daughter, and that wasn't something that was being
+offered.
+ And so, while some families like ours chose to really fight
+and come to the table and figure out a way to get some of those
+services delivered, other families had to give up. And a lot of
+families had to unenroll from school because those services
+weren't being offered, or delivered, or provided to them.
+ Mr. Allen. Yes well, let me tell you. This is our founders
+gave us a grassroots principle. They gave Americans the
+opportunity in the First Amendment to voice our concerns when
+we see them, and this country will always be a grassroots
+country. Special interest tries to rule, but I'm telling you
+the people in the grassroots efforts are what gets things done.
+ Thank you for bringing attention to this, and I know it
+takes a lot of courage to do that, because you probably got
+criticized along the way.
+ Mrs. Dale. Um-hmm, in fact I was on a couple of radio
+stations trying to share our story, and I'll never forget one
+parent posting this so publicly saying, ``Oh that mom just
+wants her most difficult child out of the house.''
+ Mr. Allen. Right.
+ Mrs. Dale. And I think that was the moment that I thought
+no, actually I just want my children to get an education. It
+was harder for us to get an education.
+ Mr. Allen. Yes. It's been tough and thank you. Chairman I
+yield back.
+ Chairman Sablan. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Allen. Let me
+see. All right. Let me go on, Mr. Morelle?
+ Mr. Morelle. Thank you very much Mr. Chairman.
+ Chairman Sablan. No thank you for your patience, sir.
+ Mr. Morelle. Yes, well thank you. This is a very, very
+important hearing, and I think there's no question that all of
+us I think recognize the importance of having children
+physically back in school when we can, and I think that's what
+we're all working very hard to do, recognizing however, that we
+want to do it appropriately.
+ I had sort of two different questions that occurred to me
+during this conversation, and I appreciate very much the
+witnesses being here and lending their expertise. The first is
+around the question of children with different abilities. And
+we've talked a fair amount as Ms. Dale has pointed out, and I
+thank her very much for sharing her story, that children with
+different abilities are more vulnerable to the virus, maybe
+among the most hesitant to take the risk of returning to
+school.
+ But I wonder if the educators could talk about measures
+they have taken in the schools that are open to keep students
+with disabilities from falling behind. Well, I guess first of
+all, for those who are unable to be in the classroom, what
+steps have you taken to ensure that children with different
+abilities can still get a quality education?
+ Could we have some comments from the superintendent in
+Miami-Dade for those students who weren't physically in the
+classroom what they've done, and what their experience has
+been?
+ Mr. Carvalho. Certainly. Thank you very much for the
+question, for the Chair. No. 1, about 52 percent students with
+special abilities are currently enrolled physically in our
+schools, so they're attending physical classroom. Over the past
+two grading periods, the first two quarters, we identified
+additional students that we believed should be in the classroom
+rather than at home, and we have had conversations with their
+parents.
+ Despite their choice of modality, we felt it would be in
+the best interest of the child to actually return to school for
+a more direct intervention for them. But for those, specific to
+your question, for those whose parents decided to keep them at
+home, we taken a number of actions.
+ No. 1 we ensured that all these students with disabilities
+had access to curriculum through the provision of assistive
+technology that goes above and beyond what's typically provided
+for students, adaptive accommodations specialized
+supplementally curricular resources.
+ We developed a distance learning implementation plan for
+each student with a disability describing how their IEP would
+be implemented during distance learning. We provided ongoing
+professional development for teachers and para-professionals
+for this new adaptation, and as appropriate the necessary
+therapies entitled to this child via their IEP.
+ We conducted the traditional IEP meetings with cycle
+educational evaluations continued virtually throughout the
+closure, so that students who required specialized services and
+supports could be not only identified, but actually receive
+these supports.
+ Last, we supported the families. We established hotlines in
+addition to webinars for parents to be aware of their rights,
+and how to best maximize online resources and the adaptive
+technologies.
+ But again, I'd like to close by saying there is for a child
+with disability, who requires hands-on intervention, a para-
+professional, one on one. There is no substitute for the
+experience that our teachers provide in school. That is why we
+keep urging those parents to actually return children to the
+schoolhouse.
+ Mr. Morelle. Well, look I thank you very much. And it
+occurs to me Mr. Chair, perhaps we ought to be thinking about
+best practices and protocols for those instances where children
+with disabilities are not able to be physically in the
+classroom. And I have just a minute left.
+ But one of the other things that I'm very interested in is
+the pandemic has given us certain learnings, one around
+telehealth and telemedicine and the greater use of technology.
+Obviously, distance learning has had its challenges in terms of
+the deployment of broadband, both in rural communities, urban
+communities, so I'm troubled by that and how we need to work
+together to be able to make sure that deployment is greater in
+the future.
+ Not only for increasing the opportunities for children in
+pandemics, but I think even for enrichment opportunities where
+additional online content might be available, but it's just not
+simply available to certain children in certain communities.
+And I wondered if people could just--and I apologize, because
+I'm down to 20 seconds, so it's going to be really short
+answers. The feds will continue to add resources.
+ We have done that in December in our last American Rescue
+Plan. Are there ways for communities to sustain it with what
+will be limited Federal resource in the future and how much of
+a priority will you put in the local districts. And I'd ask
+anyone, perhaps Mr. Morial if you might have a comment?
+ Chairman Sablan. Out of time. Maybe someone, it's a good
+question. Maybe someone will give you time.
+ Mr. Morelle. I yield back Mr. Chair thank you.
+ Chairman Sablan. Thank you. I now recognize Mrs. Miller of
+Illinois. Mrs. Miller going once, going twice. All right. Mr.
+Cawthorn sir, you have five minutes. Mr. Cawthorn going once,
+going twice. I know he's online, but I guess he stepped away.
+Let's see Mr. Yes, Mr. Keller. I apologize. Mr. Keller you have
+been very patient. Sir you have five minutes.
+ Mr. Keller. Thank you, chairman. Republicans and Democrats
+should be united in working to safely reopen our schools. As
+we've witnessed, I brought to the attention several times
+before the committee. Most recently during remote hearings in
+the U.S. Congress, over at the capitol, and we cannot get the
+technology right with all the resources we have right at our
+disposal.
+ And the staff quite frankly, how can we expect our students
+to participate in virtual learning? Virtual learning has played
+an important part while we reopen our schools. But not just in
+parts of north central and northeastern Pennsylvania, and in
+other rural areas around our country, but also in urban areas
+all across the United States.
+ Virtual learning is not always as reliable as we witnessed
+with the issues we've seen, even in the capitol city Washington
+D.C. Every student learns differently, and we cannot rob an
+entire generation of students of the choice that they need to
+pursue an education.
+ For instance, the CDC has warned that the absence of in-
+person education options may disadvantage certain students with
+disabilities. The continually changing nature of COVID-19
+guidelines makes it that much more challenging for school
+districts, school administrators, schools, teachers, parents,
+and students.
+ The evidence is clear. Students should be allowed back in
+the classroom and be permitted to attend school in a safe
+manner. Mrs. Dale, I thank you for being here today, and for
+sharing your experience and your story. I can only imagine what
+it has been like having school-aged children during this
+pandemic and seeing them lose out on critical in-person
+learning.
+ I wish nothing but the best for Lizzie and the best of your
+family, and everybody as we continue to reopen our schools.
+Your story underscores the importance of having choices for
+students during the current pandemic and going forward. How
+would your experience have been different if there had been
+more flexibility for in-person learning during these tight
+reopening restrictions like in Oswego, Oregon?
+ Mrs. Dale. Thank you. Thanks for the question, Congressman
+Keller. You know I have some choices for my other two children,
+and none for my daughter Lizzie. And like I mentioned before,
+you know, the instructional hours that she is receiving are far
+less in public school, than the instructional hours that are
+being received by my two other kids in private school now.
+ And we're really fortunate to have the resources to put our
+other children in private school. What we'd really like to be
+able to do is have those choices for all three of our kids. And
+I'm on calls frequently with children, or with families in
+eastern county Portland where these are all Title I schools, or
+you know in schools where kids have much fewer choices than the
+kids in our school district.
+ And you know this summer they're talking about grants and
+funding that's coming to the school districts for summer school
+and summer programs. And I guess I'm really grateful that
+there's some additional funds being allocated. But my question
+is, is that actually going to go to my daughter? Or is that
+going to actually go to any of these kids who really need those
+funds and that education, and those extra supports?
+ Because so far, they're not opening, and they're not
+offering any of those programs to my kids, or to other kids in
+our area. And so, I think my biggest concern, I'm really
+grateful that I hear that more money is being allocated, but to
+date to get any of these services for our kids, has been a real
+fight.
+ Has been a real uphill battle. Like Lizzie still hasn't had
+a year, a full year, of no occupational therapy, no speech
+therapy, no physical therapy, all of it is delivered via
+telehealth, and as I think other witnesses have said,
+telehealth doesn't work for some kids with cognitive
+disabilities.
+ And so, I guess my question is if we continue to allocate
+funds, is that going to go to my child, or these needy children
+in some of these districts? Where is it going to go?
+ Mr. Keller. That's actually a really good question because
+last year Congress provided more than 70 billion to schools,
+and you know when we look at the cost that has been put out
+there, it's been estimated through the Nation, it would be
+$422.00 per student on the high end, and that would amount to
+about 25 billion.
+ So, we've appropriated more than twice, almost three times
+what the estimate is. So, I'm just hopeful that the money will
+get to where it was designed to go, so kids like Lizzie can
+have the help they need to thrive. And thank you very much. I
+yield back.
+ Chairman Sablan. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Keller. Thank
+you very much. I now recognize Miss McBath, Lucy.
+ Ms. McBath. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I just wanted to
+say thank you to all of our witnesses today for your excellent
+testimony, and you're such grounded in this issue. And Ms.
+Dale, I just want to say I applaud you for such loving care and
+commitment toward Lizzie and your children. And I'm so sorry
+that that remark was made toward you because it's so apparent
+that you truly have done everything that you can to make sure
+that Lizzie has the care and resources that she needs for her
+education.
+ I do want to say though that this month President Biden
+signed the American Rescue Plan into law, giving schools across
+the country the funding and the resources that they so
+desperately need to make it through the COVID-19 pandemic. And
+the American Rescue Plan includes the biggest as we've said, it
+includes the biggest investment in the United States K through
+12 education ever in history.
+ And in fact, the three school districts that are part of my
+congressional district here in Georgia, will be receiving about
+676 million dollars from this vital legislation, and I couldn't
+be more happy for my district. This funding actually goes
+toward helping schools reopen safely, and equitably addressing
+learning loss to all of our students and helps our students to
+get back on track to achieving their post-secondary goals.
+ 80 percent of the good-paying jobs that now require post-
+secondary education, and unfortunately COVID-19 is wreaking
+havoc on college enrollment rates. In this fall the percentage
+of high school graduates who went on to college immediately
+after high school fell by 22 percent. So, the decline in
+enrollment was nearly twice as large for low-income high school
+graduates, then for their higher income peers.
+ And though there's always been a disconnect between high
+school and college, more students than ever, we know are
+falling into the cracks because of this pandemic. Mr. Carvalho,
+what should we be doing in the short-term and in the long-term
+to support students in making the transition from high school
+to post-secondary education, and how can funding from the
+American Rescue Plan Act be used to help them?
+ Mr. Carvalho. Thank you very much for the question,
+Congresswoman. That is probably one of the most important
+questions I have heard today because it deals with the fact
+that 12th grade does not represent finality in the educational
+opportunity or journey of students. And we know that many
+students who graduate high school don't necessarily have a road
+toward a full secondary viable placement.
+ So, what can be done with these funds? Quite frankly, and I
+alluded to it during my early prepared remarks is No. 1, the
+identification of those students, particularly at the secondary
+level who are about to graduate but may not necessarily have
+the number of credits.
+ There are opportunities for credit recovery during the
+summer. Second, there are opportunities during the summer and
+the rest of the school year to engage students in career
+technical programming that is economically linked to the
+communities they live in. Third, there are opportunities to
+engage students in more actively participating in ACT and SAT
+preparatory programs that students in more affluent communities
+take for granted, giving them an additional chance at having
+access to this program, and those exams.
+ There are also opportunities that can be created during the
+spring break, the rest of the school year, and during the
+summer, that to go above and beyond the minimum requirements
+that the standards in any one State require. Preparing these
+students for success, whether it's college at 2-year technical
+school, college, or university.
+ In Miami-Dade I can tell you that we paid close attention
+to the post-secondary goals in the level of preparedness of our
+students, and we make the appropriate investments. We plan.
+With the ARP dollars, with these recovery investments,
+supplement our career technical programing, supplement or SAT
+and ACT preparation, supplement over the weeks and months that
+we have the additional credit recovery for students.
+ And also provide a repertoire of opportunities for these
+students, particularly those who are in high school right now
+to really solidify their proficiency level in areas that will
+make them, enable them to be successful in their post-secondary
+endeavors.
+ Ms. McBath. Thank you so much for that question. I am so
+sorry this is my dog in the background. And Ms. Almazan, over
+the summer and in the fall, I spoke with teachers in my
+district about their experiences with virtual learning. And
+they were very, very worried that their students, especially
+those with disabilities, and we're talking about these very
+students today, that they were going to fall behind because of
+the lack of in-person attention, as Mrs. Dale has just been so
+eloquently speaking about today, and that they weren't able to
+get this kind of in-person learning through the virtual
+learning.
+ What steps has Secretary Cardona taken to reach out to the
+disability community, and ensure that disabled students are a
+priority when schools are considering reopening and these
+decisions?
+ Ms. Almazan. Well Secretary Cardona reached out to us
+within the first week of him being confirmed, and he has been
+very open to the issues because he came from Connecticut, and
+he certainly understands the issues that diverse learners and
+equity present and challenge.
+ I want to say that there are a variety of places that have
+a addressed the issues of remote learning, places like Center
+for Learner Equity, Educating All Learners Alliance, COPAA is a
+partner. The National Center for Learning Disabilities, they
+all have resources and have created resources in the last year,
+and we look forward to working with Secretary Cardona as we try
+to address the needs of students with disabilities.
+ Chairman Sablan. Thank you. Thank you, Miss McBath. Thank
+you. I'd now like to recognize again, try Mrs. Miller. Mrs.
+Miller? Mr. Cawthorn? Mr. Cawthorn? Mrs. Steel?
+ Mr. Cawthorn. Mr. Chairman I apologize for that sir.
+ Chairman Sablan. OK. Mr. Cawthorn, right?
+ Mr. Cawthorn. Yes sir how are you doing.
+ Chairman Sablan. We're good. You'll have five minutes.
+ Mr. Cawthorn. That's good to hear. So, Mrs. Dale I
+sincerely appreciated your sentiments talking about your desire
+to open some of the schools and everything you are facing. I've
+got a disability myself, not necessarily a mental one, but a
+physical one, so I feel for your child who's having to go
+through this.
+ Can I ask you what is it like--the world like, for your
+daughter now really after going through a full year for being
+just alone and secluded from her friends in school?
+ Mrs. Dale. Thank you Representative Cawthorn. We're re-
+establishing routines now. We're trying to figure out where the
+gaps are, where the gaps exist, how to return some of that
+structure. We've actually hired a behavior specialist to come
+to our house and work with us a couple hours a week, because
+what happens when a child with a disability attends school is
+they get into a flow of structure and routine.
+ They're with peers and they use that peer modeling to
+learn, and when that routine is disrupted or changed, you know
+they lose a lot of those, they lose a lot of that structure.
+They lose a lot of that routine that really helps a child with
+a disability know how to navigate their day.
+ I think the other challenge that we're trying to overcome
+right now is just there's no physical education being provided
+in our schools, so while our schools have started to reopen in
+a hybrid format, there's no recess, and there's no PE, and
+that's something that you know kids in club sports, and kids in
+private--and I've got a daughter that's on a private dance
+team, children that have access to club activities like that,
+that a lot of students either vulnerable students of you know,
+low income, or students with disabilities like my daughter
+Lizzie don't have access to things like club sports.
+ You know schools are a place that they get to have physical
+education, so we're dealing with no just academic losses and
+friendships and other losses that we're dealing with you know
+physical challenges and things like you know, eating the right
+healthy foods, and getting the right amount of physical
+activity.
+ Mr. Cawthorn. Right, well Jennifer thank you very much for
+taking your time to be able to speak with all of us. I do want
+to ask one more question. Do you think that some of the Federal
+Department of Education's funding you know to these states and
+other areas, should that be tied to schools reopening?
+ Mrs. Dale. I think very much so. Here in Oregon, you know,
+we kept being told that schools you know, once the teachers,
+once we hit certain metrics for COVID cases, schools would
+reopen. Once the teachers got vaccinated schools would reopen.
+Once, and so for parents feeling like you know it's going to
+happen, it's going to happen. In a couple of weeks from now for
+parents it kept feeling like we're going to open, we're going
+to open, and then it didn't.
+ And the teachers continued to get what they requested, and
+what they needed. And I am very supportive of teachers having
+vaccines and the States reopening, and the metrics being in the
+right you know, place for the community to be safe.
+ Mr. Cawthorn. Yes.
+ Mrs. Dale. But what is hard for me as a parent, is what can
+I trust? What can I trust of the public school system? And that
+is why we've had to move two of our children to a private
+school system because I know what I'm going to get there, and I
+know what's going to happen.
+ And so, you know as money does come out to the public
+school system, which I also support because I know that's going
+to help my daughter but reopen.
+ Mr. Cawthorn. Right of course.
+ Mrs. Dale. But we still haven't gotten a commitment to
+reopen.
+ Mr. Cawthorn. Of course, well Ms. Dale thank you very much.
+And very quickly, I know I only have about 30 seconds left of
+this answer, but Mr. Morial, during your opening statement you
+were talking about how we need state-wide testing just to be
+able to tell where our students are at this time.
+ I was wondering, do you think coming out of this pandemic,
+do you think that we should continue to utilize these
+standardized tests, which you know I feel like some time is
+like asking a fish to climb a tree, whereas it doesn't mean the
+fish doesn't you know is talented, it just means he can't climb
+a tree.
+ Do you think that there could be a different form of
+testing that would be more beneficial for students?
+ Chairman Sablan.Ten seconds.
+ Mr. Morial. Testing can always improve, but right now it's
+the best thing we have to see where our students are, not only
+to identify gaps within a school district, within a school,
+with the data you can tell whether the performance
+differentials are at the school level, at the classroom level,
+or within a particular school district within a State.
+ I think right now can testing improve--yes. But what we
+have now is better than nothing.
+ Mr. Cawthorn. Mr. Morial thank you very much. Mr. Chairman
+I yield back.
+ Chairman Sablan. Thank you. I think Miss Hayes of
+Connecticut has joined us, so Miss Hayes you have five minutes.
+ Ms. Hayes. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate you holding
+this very important hearing. I think it's safe to say that no
+one, if we had it our way, no one would want us to be in the
+situation that we're in now. And we want our children to be
+safe.
+ My son, actually his school went back to full in-person,
+and within two and a half weeks he's now home again for a 10-
+day quarantine because one of his classmates tested positive
+for COVID. And just today, my cousin who is at work asked me to
+leave the office to go get her daughter, because the teacher
+tested positive, and the school sent out a notice to parents
+that they're shutting down.
+ So, the idea that Democrats are OK with schools being
+closed is just a false choice. Every single one of us wants our
+children to go back to school. My questions today,
+Superintendent Carvalho, you made a statement about you at your
+school one of the things that they did was supplement the SAT
+and ACT testing. And I too am concerned about what the annual
+standardized tests look like for this year.
+ So, it's an issue that I continue to try to gather
+information on because in my district, and from my own
+perspective as a career educator, one of the things that I know
+is that these high-stakes, high pressure tests, which are our
+best tool for collecting information.
+ We've heard this year about all the gaps in learning that
+we've seen, so now for kids to be expected to perform at the
+highest level and be measured by these tests is deeply
+concerning, and I think will be unfairly punitive.
+ So, my question to you Superintendent Carvalho is as a
+superintendent of one of the largest school districts in the
+country, have you heard any concerns from your educators or
+parents surrounding the issue of standardized testing, or have
+you sought to seek feedback about how we can make this better,
+and make sure that the information is used in the way in which
+it is intended?
+ Mr. Carvalho. Thank you very much for your question
+Representative Hayes. We certainly have. And No. 1, I'm sorry
+for what you described earlier, the impact of COVID on your
+family, and I would like to express also you know my absolute
+understanding and compassion for the testimony of Ms. Dale and
+what she has gone through.
+ Specifically, to your question, yes, I've heard from many
+parents, and from many educators, not only in Miami-Dade, but
+across the State and the country with certain significant
+concerns about standardized assessments this year. And not only
+the assessment itself, but toward what end do we assess, and
+will there be punitive actions and consequences as a result of
+that data.
+ We have taken a school board based on policy and
+administratively a number of steps we have communicated with
+our State regarding our concerns, specific to the utilization
+of tests dated this year for the reasons that you alluded to.
+And I'll just mention a couple more.
+ No. 1, COVID-19 has impacted differently different areas of
+the country, even within one State or one county, the impacts
+have been uneven. So, the expectation that the environmental
+educational conditions would be the same across the board for
+all students, all grade levels, all schools is just a fallacy.
+ Second, second the issue that was mentioned earlier, the
+quarantine impact on whole cohorts of students in schools has
+been desperate from school to school, sometimes within the same
+school. Certainly, across districts. What I'm referring to is
+that there will be an issue of validity and reliability
+associated with the data that will emanate from this year's
+standardized assessment.
+ That is why the Gold Standard of American Assessment, which
+is the NAEP, as an organization, as a board it canceled its
+administration for these very same reasons. Now in the State of
+Florida, and I understand what Mr. Morial said, and I agree. We
+need to know where our students are. We need to know where
+students are. We need to identify the gaps.
+ If, in fact, we are to develop strategies to eliminate
+those gaps and to accelerate students toward their full
+potential. So, we don't depend only on summative assessments,
+which are these standardized assessments at the end of the
+year, we also depend on formative assessments, on assessments
+delivered by teachers themselves, so that we know, rather than
+waiting until the end of the year, where our students are,
+where the gaps are, whether regression exists, where the
+learning loss is, and actively and timely intervene.
+ My hope is that as a result of our advocacy with a State,
+and on the basis of the waiver opportunity that the Federal
+Government has offered to the states, that to the extent that
+assessments are administered and the State of Florida that is
+moving forward with its assessments, that the window for
+assessments--
+ Ms. Hayes. I'm sorry, my time is about to run out. I don't
+mean to cut you off, but you just said everything that I know
+to be true. We saw that the SATs and ACTs in most places have
+been cutoff. And any good teacher is doing formative
+assessments on an ongoing basis, so I really hope that we have
+a more robust conversation so that we are in fact measuring
+what we are intended to measure.
+ Because my son's standardized test--standardize is we
+standardize everything about it. But it would be a measure of
+what I taught him this year and not his teacher, or his school.
+With that Mr. Chair I yield back.
+ Chairman Sablan. Yes, thank you Jahana. Actually, my
+daughter as a teacher has told me that they are, at least she
+is, identifying students in her class who may need to go to
+summer school, and yes. So good work.
+ I'd like to let me see, Mrs. Miller, I think Mrs. Miller
+has joined us. Mrs. Miller?
+ Mrs. Miller. Yes, thank you. I'm back, thank you I'm
+between multiple committees so.
+ Chairman Sablan. Yes.
+ Mrs. Miller. Thank you for bearing with. I have a question
+for Mrs. Dale. Mrs. Dale thank you for your testimony. And in
+your testimony, you shared that you began engaging in grass
+roots advocacy to get students back in school. I was wondering
+how your efforts were received by school board Members and law
+makers?
+ Mrs. Dale. Thank you for your question Representative
+Miller. In the beginning what we heard, so this is back in
+September and October when we launched some of these efforts,
+we got kind of form responses, template responses that said
+we're hearing an equal amount of people who want to go back,
+and people who don't want to go back.
+ And so the response in the beginning wasn't very optimistic
+that there would be a choice to return, but what we continually
+advocated for was that students who needed to go back, and
+needed that option to return to school, were given the choice
+to return, so that the comprehensive distance learning would
+continue for those teachers and staff and students that were
+doing OK in distance learning, but that the choice to return to
+in-person in a safe way was provided.
+ And there was a state-wide mandate in Oregon that was not
+lifted until January 1 of this year. And so, it was never even
+a possibility, or a consideration even at a local school
+levels.
+ Mrs. Miller. So, may I ask another question? Why do you
+believe in light of the science being clear that reopening
+schools is safe? Why do you believe schools are not open?
+ Mrs. Dale. I think that's the hardest question for all of
+us as parents, but I think that two reasons. I think one is
+that from what I learned over the last six to seven months, and
+this was nothing that I had ever gotten involved in before. I'm
+very involved in my child's education, but not in this manner.
+But over the last six or seven months what we discovered was
+you know kids don't vote, and so there was really no child
+representation.
+ There wasn't anybody coming to the table to say this is
+what's happening with our children, and with our kids, and why
+are kids suffering. I think that was one issue, and I think the
+other issue is that--and I alluded to this just a little bit
+earlier, and said there are contracts in place with teachers,
+and with teachers? unions that really precluded our kids from
+having the opportunity and the choice to go back to school.
+ So, for example, you know there were work from home
+agreements that teachers had signed. Any time a school tried to
+reopen, so when our school district tried to reopen in
+February. The teacher's union went out and placed ads and went
+to the newspapers and said that it was being rushed, and that
+they weren't consulted with going back.
+ And so, they opposed returning to in-person learning. And
+so, I think that from our perspective is at least all I can
+really speak to is my perspective as a parent and for my kids
+is that there just wasn't--there is a lot of inertia around
+going back. There wasn't this leadership and effort to figure
+out well how do we make it possible for some of our kids to get
+back in-person learning.
+ Mrs. Miller. Thank you Mrs. Dale and I yield back the
+balance of my time.
+ Chairman Sablan. Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Miller. Again,
+let me see I'm going to call out Mr. Cawthorn one more time.
+Mrs. Steel? All right Mr. Bowman, sir? Mr. Bowman? Going once,
+and now the most patient Full Committee Chair Member of
+Congress, Chairman Bobby Scott. Sir you have five minutes.
+ Mr. Scott. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And first I'd
+like to respond to a comment in his opening statement by the
+Ranking Member. He talked about political interference. I
+certainly agree with his comments and would like to enter into
+the record an outline of the original CDC guidelines from meat
+packing plants, and then the final CDC guidelines after the
+Trump administration White House got involved, there's a stark
+difference.
+ And I would also like to enter into the record the present
+CDC guidelines about three feet difference. It doesn't say you
+can suddenly go to three feet. It says you can go to three feet
+if you are complying with other guidelines like mask wearing
+and everything else. I'd like those entered into the record.
+ Chairman Sablan. Without objection.
+ Mr. Scott. Mr. Morial thank you Marc, whoops, well let me
+ask the superintendent from Dade County Mr. Carvalho. Comments
+have been made about the fact that money has been allocated to
+your district based on this Title I formula. Obviously, you've
+got a lot of money for your district that hadn't been, could
+not have possibly been budgeted.
+ Can we count on you showing a significant difference as a
+result of in terms of results, because of this money? You know
+it's a lot of money, and if we don't show some good results,
+we'll never hear the end of it, and I can assure you you'll
+never get that kind of money again. You're on mute.
+ Mr. Carvalho. Thank you. Representative Scott you can count
+on me. You can count on me. You can count on the 40,000
+employees of this school system and 20,000 dedicated teaching
+professionals to do so.
+ Look, I'm a recession superintendent. I lived through the
+Great Recession of 2008-2009 where we had to shave hundreds of
+millions of dollars from our budget, and had it not been for
+the race to the top investments, some of the soaring results
+that I described probably would not have happened.
+ And I can tell you that some of the best practices that
+arose from those investments are still being felt in this
+school system today. Second, we approach the decisions on the
+utilization of these resources very carefully, in full
+consultation with our board who the policy actually requires a
+plan, a time plan for the expenditures with an exact knowledge
+of how those investments are going to be made, toward what end,
+what is the expected objective, goal and benefit.
+ Mr. Scott. I'm sorry, limited time. We've talked about the
+chance of continuing the allocations. It's my understanding
+that the virtual of the money, although not spent, has been
+allocated. When you hired a teacher, how long do you hire a
+teacher for?
+ Mr. Carvalho. Well sir, when we hire a teacher we hope to
+hire a teacher for a lifetime because of their commitment. The
+funds the way they've been earmarked to us, the first level
+ESSER I, we've spent 70 percent of those dollars.
+ We just received the second allocation under the previous
+administration, and we now know that the most massive
+investment in the history of education in this country, which
+for Miami-Dade exceeds about a billion dollars, has been
+announced. And we're going to absolutely be cautious, careful
+in monitoring those expenditures and strategic to live up to
+your challenge to me, which is these dollars will make a
+difference in terms of accelerating every single student to
+their full potential.
+ Mr. Scott. A lot of comment has been made about the fact
+that the money hasn't been spent. When you hire a teacher today
+you don't actually spend the money in a certain time?
+ Mr. Carvalho. No sir. School districts are, you're correct
+sir, school districts obviously annualize expenditures, but the
+expenditure is timed with its consumption, so obviously, on the
+first month of a teacher's work you would expect about one-
+eighth of that allocation to have been spent. But I can tell
+you one thing. There's a difference between expenditures and
+encumbered. A lot of funds have been spent. A lot of funds have
+been encumbered, but it is timed in accordance obviously with
+their utilization, particularly if funds are attached to
+professionals, to human beings.
+ Mr. Scott. I wanted to ask Marc Morial a question. I see he
+is back. At the end of his testimony, he was talking about the
+need for state-wide assessments. Can he explain why the Urban
+League is supporting state-wide assessments?
+ Chairman Sablan. Yes, he seems to be on, but his camera is
+off.
+ Mr. Morial. No, I'm here.
+ Chairman Sablan. Oh, there he is.
+ Mr. Morial. Yes, I had to take care of a personal matter.
+Congressman, thank you for your question. And I've heard the
+testimony. We could debate when a state-wide assessment should
+be taken, but we have to know where the gaps are. We have to
+understand where the disparities exist.
+ And school leaders also need, and parents need
+transparency. Certainly, it's going to demonstrate that many
+students have lost ground. But what that will do is it will, if
+you will, present, provide the evidence for the investments in
+the kinds of strategies to close these gaps.
+ And I think we'll demonstrate why continued investment in
+Title I and other, if you will, interventions and other
+supports, for students of color, the low- and moderate-income
+students, the English language learners, are so essential. We
+have to have tools. We cannot fly the plane without using
+radar.
+ Debate the when, whether it should happen in the beginning
+of next school year. Debate the specifics. I don't, I'm not in
+love with standardized tests. No one is. I have nightmares from
+taking the bar exam, still. But the point is, is we have to
+have common tools.
+ Teacher assessments are extremely valued, but not a common
+tool, and we need common tools to determine. I would certainly
+say there's a lot to debate about the methodology of testing,
+about the pressure on kids around testing, but we've got to
+have data, and I do not want disparities to be masked.
+ So, you don't know where they are. We don't understand how
+they play out. If we're going to be serious about addressing
+systemic inequities in this country.
+ Chairman Sablan. Thank you.
+ Mr. Scott. Thank you. Mr. Chairman I'd like to ask
+unanimous consent to enter into the record a document published
+by the National Education Association in 2016 describing how
+you can do assessments, talking about eliminating high stakes
+testing, and providing more local and local controlled testing
+as we did and in Every Student Succeeds Act so that people will
+know that we're not talking about the imposition of
+standardized tests, we're talking about making sure that we
+have the assessments so we know where the learning has to take
+place.
+ We have provided accordingly the Title I formula, so the
+money is going where it's most needed. And you can't as
+business friends tell us, you can't manage what you don't
+measure.
+ Chairman Sablan. Thank you without objection so ordered.
+ Mr. Scott. Appreciate it.
+ Chairman Sablan. And Mr. Chairman your five minutes is up.
+Thank you. So, we'll do some housekeeping matters here. I would
+like to remind my colleagues that pursuant to committee
+practice, materials for submission to the hearing record must
+be submitted to the Committee Clerk within 14 days following
+the last day of this hearing, so by close of business on May 8
+of 2021, preferably in Microsoft Word format.
+ The materials submitted must address the subject matter of
+the hearing and only a Member of the subcommittee, or an
+invited witness may submit materials for inclusion in the
+hearing record. Documents are limited to 50 pages each.
+ Documents longer than 50 pages will be incorporated into
+the record via an internet link that you must provide to the
+Committee Clerk within the required timeframe, but please
+recognize that in the future that link may no longer work.
+ Pursuant to House rules and regulations, items for the
+record should be submitted to the clerk electronically by
+emailing submissions to [email protected].
+Again, [email protected]. Member offices are
+encouraged to submit materials to the inbox before the hearing,
+or during the hearing at the time the Member makes the request.
+ Now again I want to thank all of our witnesses for their
+participation today. All of you made huge contributions, this
+subcommittee. And Members of the subcommittees may have some
+additional questions for you. And we ask the witnesses to
+please respond to these questions in writing. The hearing
+record will be held open for 14 days in order to receive these
+responses. I remind my colleagues that pursuant to committee
+practice, witness questions for the hearing record must be
+submitted to the Majority Committee Staff or Committee Clerk
+within 7 days.
+ The questions submitted must address the subject matter of
+the hearing. I now recognize the distinguished Ranking Member
+for a closing statement.
+ Mr. Owens. OK one second here. Hold tight. Bear with me.
+ Chairman Sablan. Mr. Owens, yes?
+ Mr. Owens. Yes, 1 second. I'm having a little bit of--OK,
+OK. First of all, Mr. Chairman, thank you once again. Before I
+start, I'd like to kind of clear the record. A little narrative
+that I'm finding very disturbing over the decades about a race
+that I am so proud to be part of, and a history that I'm so
+proud to reflect upon.
+ That there was this narrative that for some reason because
+we're in a segregated community, that we were a hapless race
+that could never overcome the oppressive white race. I want to
+clear that. I grew up in Tallahassee, Florida, the deep south,
+in a community that was remarkably successful.
+ Even though it was segregated, we had the same thoughts of
+our country that other communities did, even though we were not
+assimilating at the time, whether it be Italian or German, we
+loved our country, believed in democracy. And we believed in
+the tenets that made our community great, and we did not trust
+government.
+ We believe there's a God in heaven. We believe in education
+the family unit and capitalism was our way out and guess what?
+The 40s and 50s and 6's we proved that. So, I want everybody to
+remember these statistics as we've talked about my race,
+because it has been something that's happened since the 60's
+has gotten to where we are.
+ It's not the color of our skin it's not what happened 200
+years ago. In the 40s, 50s, and 60s my community, a black
+community, led our country's growth in middle class. Men
+matriculated from
+ college, men committed to marriage, it was 70 percent. So
+no, we didn't have the problems with the single mothers that we
+now have today.
+ Men knew was it was to man up and take care of their
+families. We also led our country in the growth of the middle
+class because we had the highest percentage of entrepreneurs,
+over 40 percent. So, once you keep that in context and now look
+at what's happened to our Nation, and what's happening to the
+lack of education we are not experiencing.
+ So that being said, and I also want to say this to Mr.
+Carvalho, I hope I've pronounced that right. Thank you for what
+you've done in Miami-Dade. Thank you. You represent so many of
+our great leaders and teachers. You truly do love your
+profession, and you've proved that in this last year.
+Unfortunately, there's so many people out there that take this
+profession and they don't.
+ And I would say to Jennifer, she would have loved to have
+had your kind of leadership up in her State, because Lizzie
+would have had a different result over the last year. OK, that
+being said, Mr. Chairman, thank you again for calling this
+hearing, for the witnesses to offer your expertise today.
+ This has really been a great hearing. But I am frustrated
+with a couple of things that I've heard. First, I'm frustrated
+that the answer from my democratic friends for what children
+have experienced this last year is just to dump a whole lot
+more money into the same system that's failed students for so
+many generations.
+ In 1992, Mr. Chairman, black 12th graders scored 24 points
+lower than white students in reading. In 2019 they scored 32
+points lower, and in 2017 the Department of Education State of
+California stated that 75 percent of black boys could not pass
+standard reading and writing tests.
+ This has nothing to do with the color of their skin, it has
+to do with policies in the face of the teacher unions whose
+responsibility is to never allow this to happen. It blows my
+mind that Democrats seem to think that all they have to do is
+dump a whole lot of money into the same system that's failed
+us. We need to change that.
+ Second of all, I'm glad to see my Democrat friends are
+finally supporting the need to reopen schools. I welcome this
+conversation. But Mr. Chairman, our families do not need our
+words, they need our actions. When Republicans opposed
+requiring school districts to reopen schools in order to
+receive Federal COVID aid, every single Democrat voted no.
+ Five times the Democrats voted no on reopening schools for
+all students. Your party voted no on reopening schools for the
+most vulnerable students, including students with disabilities.
+The Democrats voted no on allowing parents with children in
+closed schools to use their personal share of public funds to
+find other educational options.
+ Your party voted no when requiring teachers? unions and
+school districts to be transparent about reopening
+negotiations. And Democrats voted no on reopening when all
+teachers in a district had access to the vaccine. Five times,
+five times to show that Democrats believed in science.
+ Five times to show that Democrats care about the harm being
+done to our children. Five times to show Democrats newfound
+enthusiasm for reopening schools isn't based on a summarization
+that the party is in political peril, and five times Democrats
+said no.
+ So, Mr. Chair, I appreciate you holding these hearings. I
+appreciate the opportunity to amplify the impact that this last
+year has had on families. I hope my friends across the aisle
+will put into action behind words, these words, the next time
+they have an opportunity.
+ And the last point, I grew up again in Tallahassee. I was
+the third black to go to the University of Miami. I left there
+with a degree in biology. In my community in the 60s that was
+not weird. That was not unheard of. We expected success because
+we wanted to reflect greater on our community, on our race, and
+to succeed.
+ Today that would be about almost unbelievable that a black,
+young man could go play football and graduate with a degree
+that will be respected across our country. That should never
+happen in our country, and we need to make sure that those that
+are most at risk are given an opportunity like everybody else,
+no matter what their zip code is, to have the American dream of
+education and choice.
+ And thank you for those out there giving our kids across
+our country parents? choice this last year. That is truly the
+American way and I thank you for the opportunity. Mr. Chair I
+yield back.
+ Chairman Sablan. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Owens. And I'm
+not going to respond to your comments, but I want to thank our
+witnesses again for taking the time to be with us. Again, each
+one of you has made good, very good contributions to our
+hearing today.
+ Today's hearing confirm that the COVID-19 relief funding
+that Congress has secured over the last year has been critical,
+critical to addressing the immediate challenges of the pandemic
+for schools. We're not expecting that there would be miracles
+here, but they were immediate. They addressed the challenges,
+the additional challenges of COVID-19.
+ We also heard how the American Rescue Plan in particular,
+is finally providing schools with the funding they need to
+reopen classrooms safely, keep classrooms open, and help
+students overcome the far-reaching consequences of school
+closures.
+ Finally, our discussions confirm what we have heard from
+our relief efforts so far, that Congress must continue to
+target resources to the schools and students who need them
+most. School communities cannot fully recover from this
+pandemic unless we confront persistent educational disparities
+that has been exacerbated by the pandemic.
+ We certainly have a clear path to finally achieve
+educational equity as we slowly emerge from this global health
+emergency. I look forward to taking historic steps along with
+all of you, alongside my colleagues on both sides of the aisle
+to ensure that every student has access to an education that
+allows them to reach their full potential.
+ And I go back right now I remember the hearing we had like
+three Congress's ago and we had a GAO official testify about
+the status of Native American schools because somebody
+mentioned, I think it was Mr. Grothman mentioned, our families
+generation of how we should look at that. The status of Native
+American schools in our country, and it is embarrassing. It is
+so unfair to what we have done to the indigenous people of our
+America.
+ But I want to thank you all for this also, coming from the
+territories. It's not 10 o'clock to 6 in the morning, almost
+time for me to get up from bed, but so it's always good, very
+important meeting. Everyone thank you for joining us and this
+meeting is now adjourned. Thank you.
+ [Additional submissions by Mr. Scott follow:]
+
+[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ [Questions submitted for the record and the responses by
+Mr. Morial follow:]
+
+[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
+
+
+
+ [Whereupon, at 3:49 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
+
+
+