EdAction
Maple River Education Coalition PAC
105 Peavey Rd, St 116 
Chaska, MN  55318 
952-361-4931
http://www.EdAction.org
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May 25, 2001

Federal HR1: After the House Vote

The final vote that passed the disastrous HR1 was lopsided: 384 to 45. Noteworthy is that 34 of the 45 dissenters were from President Bush's own party, and more Democrats supported the bill than did Republicans. Only one Minnesota Congressman opposed the final bill, Rep. Sabo. It is never easy for an elected official to vote NO on any final major spending bill, particularly education. Putting a good bill together is far easier than rejecting the final product.

Before the final vote, a move was made to delete the expanded 3rd through 8th grade federal testing requirements. In Minnesota, these tests are the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs). Currently, federal Title I requires MCAs in 3rd, 5th, 7th and 10th grades. MCAs assess whether the schools are implementing the Profile of Learning. The amendment to delete these expanded federal mandates was called the Hoekstra/Frank Amendment. This amendment would not have removed the federal mandates to the Goals 2000/STW content standards, but would have been a significant improvement.

Unfortunately, the Hoekstra/Frank amendment failed. The good news is that all eight members of the Minnesota delegation supported the amendment! The vote was 173 in favor and 255 opposed. There was strong opposition to the expanded federal mandate! We want to thank every member of the Minnesota delegation for listening to the overwhelming public outrage against the federal Goals 2000/STW curriculum that is being forced on Minnesota and every other state. Please call and thank them for being responsive to your deep concerns over education in our state. It is a tribute to you, the thousands of activists across this state, that our delegation voted in a rare display of unity on a major policy issue. Please take the time to call them to express your support for their vote on the Hoekstra/Frank amendment.

We also thank the Congressmen who ultimately voted to oppose HR1. Those 45 are listed at the following location.

The following noteworthy amendments were added before the final vote was taken:

1. Graham/Tiarht amendment: (passed on a voice vote)

• Establishes the right of parents to inspect and review instructional materials and to inspect and review surveys, analyzes or evaluations before being given to a student.
• Requires surveys, analyses, or evaluations concerning political affiliations or beliefs, mental or psychological problems, sexual behavior or attitudes, illegal or antisocial behavior, appraisals of family relationships, other privileged relationships, or religious practices or belief to have prior, informed, written consent of parents.
• Requires medical or mental health exams, testing treatment or immunizations to have prior, written, informed consent of parents, unless expressly permitted by state law. We supported this amendment.

2. Akin Amendment: (passed on a voice vote)

• Requires that the test measure "objective knowledge, based on measurable, verifiable, and widely accepted professional testing and assessment standards, and shall not assess the personal opinions, attitudes, or beliefs of the student being assessed." We supported this amendment.

3. Norwood/Barr/Graves Amendment: (passed on a voice vote)

• Institutes the right to discipline students with disabilities. We supported this amendment.

4. The Hill amendment: (passed on a voice vote)

• Establishes so-called "small learning communities." In reality, "small learning communities" are the implementation of School-To-Work career clusters and mandatory vocational training for all students. We opposed this amendment. For a look at how these "small learning communities" are being implemented in Minnesota and how they are career tracking for our students, see our review St. Paul's "Education Blueprint". Very few House members would have known what "small learning communities" are or how they operate. Such is the way that federal law is being passed.

5. The Velasquez amendment: (passed on a voice vote)

• Provided money for 21st Century Schools. 21st Century schools are the "one-stop" plan that transform schools into centers for all family needs: health care, child care, youth activities and the like. 21st Century schools was tried at Dayton's Bluff in St. Paul at a huge cost. It was a monumental flop as far as increasing academic achievement. Few House members would have had a good idea as to what 21st Century schools were. We opposed this amendment.

Next week, the Senate will probably finish up its work on the bill. From there the House and Senate versions will go to a conference committee to work out the differences.

Worldnet Daily referenced some of our concerns in their article, "Activists decry Bush education bill". Many other national publications circulated the research and information we provided.

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