Press Releases
Currently showing results related to K-12 Education
Chairman Scott Statement on Court Ruling Vacating DeVos Delay of IDEA Rule
03.07.19 WASHINGTON - Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia vacated the Education Department's delay of the Equity in IDEA rule. The Obama-era rule, which Secretary DeVos had delayed for two years, helps schools address persistent and pervasive disparities in identification, placement, and discipline of students of color with disabilities. "Today's court ruling is a major victory for students and parents and an important ste… Continue Reading
House and Senate Democrats Unveil Proposal to Invest More than $100 Billion in America’s Public Schools
01.30.19 WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), and Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, led House and Senate Democrats in introducing a proposal to invest more than $100 billion in America's public schools. The Rebuild America's Schools Act (H.R.865) would fund $70 billion in grants and $30 billion in bonds to help address critical physical and digital infrastructure needs in schools across the country. According to … Continue Reading
Top Democrats Unveil Bill to Protect Students from Seclusion and Restraint Practices
11.14.18 WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Don Beyer (VA-08), Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03), the top Democrat on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA), the top Democrat on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, introduced the Keeping All Students Safe Act to protect students from the dangers of seclusion and restraint at school. The legislation would make it illegal for any school receiving ta… Continue Reading
Scott Repeats Call for Hearings to Examine Troubling State of Education in Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands One Year After Hurricane Maria
09.20.18 WASHINGTON - Today, Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03), the top Democrat on the Committee on Education and the Workforce, sent a second letter to Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (NC-05) requesting hearings before the full Committee to examine the troubling state of education in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. The U.S. Virgin Islands Board of Education reported a drop of nearly 4,000 students enrolled in schools in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, while Puer… Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott: “Outrageous” That Secretary DeVos Will Allow Federal Education Funds to be Spent on Guns
08.31.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) released the following statement in response to a letter from Secretary Betsy DeVos that stated the Department of Education will allow schools to use taxpayer money to arm teachers. "Arming teachers will recklessly endanger both students and educators. It is outrageous that Secretary DeVos will allow federal education funds to be spent putting guns in the classroom. If Secretary DeVos refuses to adhere to congressional intent and the administratio… Continue Reading
In Secretary Devos’s First Appearance Before the Committee, Democrats Seek Answers on Conflicts of Interest, Support for For-Profit Colleges, and Attacks on Civil Rights
05.22.18 WASHINGTON - Today, in Secretary Betsy DeVos's first appearance before the Committee in her 16 months in office, Committee Democrats expressed deep concerns about the Department of Education's support for for-profit education, its numerous apparent conflicts of interest, and its efforts to undermine students' civil rights in schools and campuses across the country. Members used the rare opportunity to question Secretary DeVos to seek explanations for the Department's agenda, which has undermin… Continue Reading
Scott, Nadler Release New GAO Report that Proves Students of Color Suffer Harsher Discipline for Lesser Offenses
04.04.18 WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), ranking member of the House Committee on the Judiciary released a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report entitled, "Discipline Disparities for Black Students, Boys, and Students with Disabilities." The ranking members requested that the GAO investigate disparities in discipline policies and practices applied to students of color,… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on the Passing of Civil Rights Activist Linda Brown
03.27.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on the passing of Linda Brown, who, as a young child, was at the center of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision that ended legal segregation in public education: "The courage and conviction of a nine-year-old girl named Linda Brown and her family serve as a powerful marker in our nation's long march toward educational equity. The 1954 landmark Supreme Court case that bears her name etched a powerfu… Continue Reading
Bonamici: Students Need Education Leader Who Will Stand Up for All Students
03.12.18 WASHINGTON, DC [03/12/18] - Today Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, a leader on the House Education Committee, released the following statement after a '60 Minutes' interview in which Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos continued to tout her school privatization schemes despite any evidence of their success. "The Secretary of Education must be a champion for all our students - including the more than 50 million who attend public schools. Betsy DeVos' singular focus on privatizing public educatio… Continue Reading
House Democrats Unveil A Better Deal to Rebuild America
02.08.18 WASHINGTON, DC - Today, House Democrats announced a bold, new, comprehensive infrastructure plan - A Better Deal to Rebuild America. This historic $1 trillion federal investment to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure is five times larger than President Trump’s rumored plan and will create more than 16 million jobs. A Better Deal to Rebuild America will boost local economies and generate billions of dollars in new economic activity without adding to the deficit. The infrastructure plan will inv… Continue Reading
More than 150 Democrats Ask Trump to Invest in Public School Infrastructure
01.17.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) and 153 House Democrats sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging the administration to invest in the critical infrastructure that affects every city and town in the nation - our public schools. Too many of the more than 50 million students and six million staff who learn and work in our public schools spend their days in facilities that fail to make the grade. "To address this crisis, the federal government should partner with states and te… Continue Reading
Scott Condemns Action to Seek Delay of Rule Addressing Inequities in Special Education
12.14.17 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Education (Department) intends to seek a comment period for a delay of the Equity in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) rule, which addresses disproportionate identification, placement, and disciplinary treatment of students of color in special education. "I am deeply disappointed by the Department's efforts to propose a delay of the rule that addresses widespread disp… Continue Reading
Bonamici, Scott, 45 Democrats Fight to Protect K-12, Higher Education in Tax Reform
12.08.17 WASHINGTON - Today Education and the Workforce Vice Ranking Member Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA), and 45 Democrats stood up for public education and urged tax bill conferees to mitigate the harmful aspects of the current tax proposal and instead advance a tax plan that supports public schools and investments in higher education. "This partisan tax proposal will have irreversible and lasting consequences for the future of K-12 and higher e… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Closed-Door Meeting at Ed to Discuss Undermining Civil Rights Protections for Students
11.17.17 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after a private meeting was held at the Department of Education discussing the "harmful effects" of school discipline guidance from teachers who experienced violence in the classroom. Enacted under the Obama administration, the guidance encourages schools, districts, and states to reassess their policies for and use of suspensions and expulsions that are disproportionately used on students of color and students with d… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Job Killing GOP Tax Proposal
11.09.17 "New analysis from the NEA estimates that if Republicans succeed in eliminating much of the state and local tax deduction, as proposed in H.R. 1, it would likely have a devastating effect on state and local public education budgets. According to the analysis, H.R. 1 puts nearly 250,000 education jobs at risk and could result in $250 billion in cuts to public education over the next 10 years. In Virginia alone, the GOP's proposed changes to SALT would mean a potential loss of 9,264 public educati… Continue Reading
Members of Congress Urge Trump Administration to Provide Relief to Schools in Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands
10.24.17 WASHINGTON - Today, Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03), and Representatives Stacey Plaskett (VI-AL), and Jenniffer González-Colón (PR-AL), led 58 other Members of Congress in writing a letter to the Trump Administration urging them to prioritize providing relief to schools located in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Over the last two months, both territories have been devastated by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. "Schools play a central role in these devastated communit… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Rollback of Guidance on Special Education
10.20.17 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services rescinded 72 documents that provide guidelines on special education policy: "Today the Department of Education took another harmful regulatory reform step by rescinding 72 guidance documents for individuals with disabilities served under the Rehabilitation Act and students with disabilities served under the Individuals with Di… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Death of Bill Goodling, Former Chair of Ed & Workforce Committee
09.19.17 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the death of former Pennsylvania Congressman Bill Goodling, who served as chair of the Education and Workforce Committee from 1995-2001: "It is with sadness that I note the passing of former Congressman Bill Goodling, who I had the privilege of serving with on the Committee. He was a tireless advocate for education, particularly on issues of literacy and child nutrition. While we sat on different sides of the p… Continue Reading
As Secretary DeVos Invites States to Test Boundaries of Education Law, Scott, Murray Urge Her to Follow the Law
09.18.17 (Washington, D.C.) - Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA), ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee sent a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos urging her to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) as Congress intended, and only approve state plans that meet all of the law's provisions. In an interview yesterday, Secretary DeVos urged sta… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Judiciary Committee Passing Bill Attacking Civil Rights For People with Disabilities
09.07.17 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the House Judiciary Committee passed, on a party-line vote, H.R. 620 the ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017, legislation that attacks the civil rights of Americans with disabilities. "The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a bipartisan civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities and ensures access to places of employment, schools, as well as public buildings and … Continue Reading