Teacher Empowerment Act of 1999 Committee Mark-up

On Wednesday, June 29^th the House Committee on Education and the Workforce met to consider H.R.1995, "the Teacher Empowerment Act of 1999" (TEA). This bill represents part one of the comprehensive reauthorization of elementary and secondary education programs that the Committee must complete before the end of the 106^th Congress. All Members of the Committee were present during some portion of the debate on this legislation.

Chairman William Goodling (R-PA) remarked that the Members are unanimous in their support for a quality teacher workforce. He described H.R. 1995 as an effort to balance the federal investment in smaller classes and good teachers. The TEA allows for the hiring of new teachers, the expansion of professional development leading to improved student achievement, and better trained teachers in the classroom. Furthermore, the bill prohibits national certification of teachers. Chairman Goodling said the bill addresses the needs of science and math educators, noting the changes that had been incorporated at the request of the National Science Teachers Association.

Ranking Democrat, William Clay (D-MO) provided the counterpoint to Mr. Goodling's remarks. He said the TEA is flawed because there is "no real accountability, vague timelines regarding important changes in practice, and inadequate targeting to the neediest districts and pupils." Alternatively, the Democratic substitute, authored by Congressman Martinez (D-CA) offers more funding for the Troops to Teachers program; more funding for math and science educators; more funding for principal training; and more funding for the National Writing Project.

Congressman Buck McKeon (R-CA) described the process used by the Committee to craft this legislation as bipartisan. On the issue of class size he parted company with his Democratic colleagues. According to Mr. McKeon, the bill promotes teacher excellence, smaller classes and local choices. By allowing districts to spend as much or as little as they like on reducing class size, the TEA is acknowledging that "one size does not fit all communities." Congressman Martinez stated his regret that the bill was no longer a bipartisan effort, acknowledging that he and Mr. McKeon had worked hard together during the oversight process. He urged his colleagues to support the Martinez substitute and "vote for the need, not for the greed."

Mr. Goodling opened the bill up to amendments and debate. Congressman Miller (D-CA) said the bill continues to get better and urged Mr. Goodling to consider the stricter standards regarding teacher qualifications that are included in the Martinez substitute. Mr. McKeon startled both Mr. Miller and the audience by offering to accept all his teacher qualification provisions in exchange for his vote for H.R. 1995. Mr. Miller said he was tempted, but remained concerned about the permissive class size provision.

That offer set the tone for the remaining hours of debate. As each Democratic Member spoke of a provision in the TEA that they wished to see strengthened or expanded, Mr. McKeon offered to change the language in exchange for their support. Each time the class size provision was mentioned, the offer was reluctantly rejected.

Congressman Ehlers (R-MI) in particular spoke in favor of the comments made by Mr. Miller regarding teacher preparedness and the need for a date certain for all teachers to become qualified. He said this is particularly important for science educators. He thanked his colleagues for the strong commitment to science professional development that the bill reflected. Mr. McKeon in turn thanked Mr. Ehlers for his leadership in this area.

Congressman Holt (D-NJ) congratulated the Committee for the provisions related to math and science in the legislation. He expressed support for increasing the set aside from $250 million to $300 million, matching both the Administration's bill and the Martinez substitute. He recognized that the two bills were very similar and urged his colleagues to seek more middle ground prior to floor action.

Congressman Payne (D-NJ) spoke in favor of two provisions that he wanted considered for the TEA. The first was the elementary school counseling demonstration program. The second provision urged the Committee to make pupil services personnel eligible to participate in professional development programs funded under the act.

The Committee first voted on the Martinez substitute, defeating that proposal on a strict party line vote. The vote on H.R. 1995 was a bit more interesting. Voting with the Republicans in favor of the bill were Mr. Roemer (D-IN) and Mr. Holt. In conversation with staff after the vote it was revealed that by voting for the bill they had received assurance from Mr. McKeon that he would work with them before the Rules Committee to make their amendments in order during floor debate on the bill. Mr. Roemer is seeking more funding for the Troops to Teacher program while Mr. Holt wants to increase the set aside for science and math by $50 million.

Floor debate on H.R.1995 is expected during the week of July 12^th.

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