New Republican Proposal Dismantles Civil Rights Efforts in Schools, Raids Funding for Poor Students

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The State and Local Funding Flexibility Act, Republican legislation introduced today under the guise of flexibility, makes dangerous changes in federal education policy at the expense of poor and minority students.

The results of this shortsighted proposal would allow chief state school officers and school district superintendents to siphon away money intended for poor and minority students and instead use that targeted funding for nearly any other activity allowed under the Elementary and Secondary Education. This includes money from Title I and funds designated for English Language Learners, Native American and migrant students. In the Republican bill, this money will no longer be tied to the student.

For example, school districts could choose to take away money allocated to their district because of the number of low-income or Native American students and use that money to create a charter school in another part of the school district.

There are enormous civil rights implications to this proposal. The modern federal role in education, to promote equal opportunity for underserved populations in schools, was born out of court decisions that said every child in the U.S. has a right to equal access to education. Education equality has historically been protected and preserved by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, first written in 1965 and most recently reauthorized as No Child Left Behind.

Allowing school districts to use tax payer dollars arbitrarily, for other purposes than which that money was intended, is a fundamental dismantling of the federal government’s role in education.

“This back-door attempt at fulfilling campaign promises to dismantle the federal role in education will turn back the clock on civil rights and especially harm low-income and minority students,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), senior Democrat on the Education and the Workforce Committee. “Pretending like the federal government doesn’t have a role won’t change why it exists, it won’t change the history of separate but equal, but it will endanger our schools, our economic stability and our global competitiveness.  The implications of a bill like this are disastrous for students, communities, schools and the future of this country.

“It is an offensive, direct attack on civil rights. Deliberately going after poor and minority children is even more evidence of a complete disregard for the communities who need our help the most. This bill makes it much more difficult to continue in a bipartisan manner to rewrite the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.”

Education advocates expressed major concerns about the bill.

“The Kline bill is troubling. It would give school districts, even those that have repeatedly demonstrated indifference to the needs of low-income students, permission to raid federal funding intended to support these students and spend it for other purposes,” said Amy Wilkins, Vice President for Government Affairs and Communications at The Education Trust. “For example, a district could spend its Title I dollars on things that have nothing to do with core academics, like CPR training. That’s not the kind of flexibility our schools need to boost student achievement and close gaps.”

“The Council of the Great City Schools will oppose the new ESEA Funding Flexibility bill and any bill that undermines the integrity of the Title I program for disadvantaged students and the Title III program for students with limited English proficiency,” said Michael Casserly, Executive Director of the Council.

The civil rights community also raised issues with the Republican proposal.

"In light of the recent data released by the Office Civil Rights showing that English language learners and children of color still don't have access to a quality education, we are gravely concerned that this bill will only exacerbate the problem," said Delia Pompa, Senior Vice President of Programs at the National Council of La Raza.

A new report out today by the Democrats on the Education and the Workforce Committee outlines effective ways to give schools flexibility in the context of federal education law, while still holding true to the core principles of the role of the federal government in the first place. The report, Real Relief for Schools: Accomplishing Effective Flexibility, outlines policy requests and priorities for flexibility from education stakeholders. The report also shows that while there are several provisions in current law to promote flexibility, few states or school districts choose to utilize the options available. Lastly, the report includes Democrats’ vision and recommendations for building greater flexibility into the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

In the course of the reauthorization process, Democrats have received thousands of policy recommendations and requests regarding flexibility from education stakeholders including education advocates, the civil rights and business communities and groups representing school officials and unions. The chart below summarizes the types of policy requests received by the Committee.

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