Jeanne Shaheen Delivers Major Education Policy Address at Annual NEA Conference in Bartlett

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 6, 2008

CONTACT:
Kate Bedingfield
603 782 4613 (o)/603 361 8036 (c)/ kbedingfield@jeanneshaheen.org

Caitlin Legacki
603 782 4613 (o)/603 361 9643 (c)/ clegacki@jeanneshaheen.org

JEANNE SHAHEEN DELIVERS MAJOR EDUCATION POLICY ADDRESS AT ANNUAL NEA CONFERENCE IN BARTLETT

(Bartlett, NH) – Today, former Governor and current candidate for US Senate Jeanne Shaheen delivered a major education policy address outlining her vision for a new direction in education policy that will strengthen our schools and make college more affordable for middle class families.

"As a former teacher, I know first-hand the challenges that teachers face in our classrooms everyday and I understand that a good education is critical not only to our children's success, but to our ability to compete as a country in the 21st century economy," Shaheen said.  "I believe we need a new direction in education policy that will strengthen our education system for all of our children by reforming No Child Left Behind, fully funding special education, investing in early childhood education and making college more affordable for more families."

Shaheen delivered the address today at the annual conference of the New Hampshire NEA in Bartlett, New Hampshire.

Excerpts of the speech are below.

A New Direction in Education Policy: Excerpts from remarks as prepared for delivery

"We desperately need a new direction on education. For seven years, George Bush has enacted education policies that have hurt our schools and put a college education out of reach for too many families. Throughout his term in the Senate, my opponent in this race John Sununu has consistently supported the Bush education agenda. He and I have serious disagreements on education policy. I believe we shouldn't place unfunded mandates on our local communities, he has voted against funding for No Child Left Behind. I believe every child deserves an excellent education, he has voted against funding for special education eight times. I believe we should make college more affordable, he has voted to slash student loans. And I believe we should invest more in early childhood education, but he has voted numerous times against funding for early learning programs. We need a new direction in Washington, and that means we need a new Senator." 

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"A free, high quality, public education is essential to guaranteeing our children the ability to take full advantage of the promise of America.  More than that, it is critical to maintaining our economic competitiveness—not just here in New Hampshire or in America, but throughout the world."

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"The challenge ahead of us is clear. Today's generation of 25 to 34 year-olds is the first generation of Americans less educated than their parents. At the same time, the National Commission on Adult Literacy reports that 24 of the 30 fastest growing professions require some higher education or advanced training.

We must change course to prepare for the future, and we must start now. New Hampshire is uniquely poised to take advantage of improvements in our education system.  In the last several months, I've visited high tech businesses across the state that are redefining our state's economy.

I visited Mascoma Corporation in the Upper Valley where they're doing cutting edge research on cellulosic ethanol made from forest by-products. Their researchers are pushing to find the breakthroughs that may not only help save our environment, but will bring more jobs right here to New Hampshire. In Nashua I visited the Ferrite Company, one of the nation's leaders in developing high tech microwave systems, which can do everything from process food to recycling waste.  They even supplied circulators that were used by NASA in the Mars rover.

In combination with New Hampshire's world class colleges and universities, these and other high tech companies form the foundation of what could be the cutting edge of tomorrow's economy. With a new direction and the right investments, we can expand on our success in New Hampshire."

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"I believe we need to focus on four areas to better prepare our children for the challenges of the future.  First, we must put faith back in our teachers and our schools and drastically overhaul No Child Left Behind.  Second, we must deliver on our commitment to all our children by fully funding special education.  Third, we need a bold new commitment to expand access to early childhood education.  And fourth, we must make college more affordable. No qualified student should be barred from higher education because of the cost."

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"We must reform the No Child Left Behind law. The law has a worthy goal: that every child should have access to an excellent education. While we all support the goal, the law's requirements have tied teachers' hands and punished schools when they needed help the most. And because the law was never fully funded, it is an enormous unfunded mandate that has been a burden on states, costing New Hampshire alone over 200 million dollars in lost revenue."

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"The federal government has made a commitment to the states to ensure children with disabilities receive an equal opportunity for an excellent education, and we should honor that commitment by setting a goal of fully funding IDEA within eight years. ... We need a Senator who will fight for special education funding instead of voting against it eight times. We need a new direction on special education, and we need a new Senator."

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"In addition to overhauling No Child Left Behind and meeting our commitment to special education, we should expand our investment in early childhood education. The research is clear: the early years are critical, and expanding early childhood education is a wise investment.

Not only is it the right thing to do, it's the smart thing to do – our economy receives a $7 to $10 return for every dollar invested in early childhood education.

Early childhood education is one of my passions, and I was proud to make it a priority when I was Governor. The work we did to expand kindergarten has given more than 25,000 additional children the opportunity to attend public kindergarten since 1997. And working together with a broad array of state agencies, business leaders, the National Guard and law enforcement, we launched a statewide campaign to raise awareness about the importance of early childhood education.

We need a bold and aggressive investment to help states create and grow early childhood education programs. The best way to expand access to early childhood education is for states to take the lead in creating and growing programs with help from the federal government. By creating incentive funding for states, we can drastically increase the number of children who have access to pre-K and other early childhood programs, and we can begin working toward universal pre-kindergarten.

… We need a Senator who will invest more in early learning, not one who votes repeatedly to cut funding from early childhood education programs as John Sununu has done. We need a new direction on early childhood education, and that means we need a new Senator."

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"Unfortunately, when it comes to making college more affordable, Washington has been going in the wrong direction. Just three years ago, John Sununu cast the deciding vote to pass the largest cut to student loans in the nation's history – 12.7 billion dollars. And he voted against Pell grants thirteen times. We need a Senator who will work to make college more affordable, not vote to slash student loans. We need a new direction, and that means we need a new Senator." 

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"Education is the key not only for our children's future, it is the key to growing our nation's economy and keeping America competitive in the world."

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"As our world changes and America faces new global challenges, we must have a workforce prepared to meet these challenges, adapt to the new ones we do not foresee, and ensure that America remains the strongest, most prosperous nation in the world."