U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, addressed the committee during a hearing focused on expanding educational options for families. The hearing discussed how to give parents more power in choosing schools that best fit their children's needs.
Cassidy highlighted concerns over current education outcomes. He noted, "The scores from the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) were the lowest we’ve seen in over 30 years. Only one-third of high school seniors are at a proficient reading level. And nearly 60% of employers say high school graduates are not job ready."
He questioned whether increased funding alone would improve education quality: "Some of my colleagues say the solution to this is increased funding. We’ve tried that. Throwing more money at schools does not work. The idea that this is solely a resource issue defies the facts."
Instead, Cassidy advocated for school choice as a means to drive innovation and address diverse learning needs. "School choice is the avenue for fostering the innovation we need to meet students’ learning needs," he said.
He gave examples of specialized schools such as charter institutions designed for students with dyslexia and other programs targeting “at risk” students or providing hands-on trade skills.
Cassidy emphasized that parents should have the option to keep their children in public schools if satisfied but also be able to seek alternatives if needed: "Each child is unique and has unique learning needs. If a parent recognizes their child’s needs aren’t being met at school, they should be able to find a different school that better suits their child’s needs."
He argued that giving families more choices could benefit all schools by encouraging competition and improvement: "When you empower parents with choice, they will naturally choose the education that’s best. This prompts lower performing schools to improve. Healthy competition drives results."
Cassidy referenced legislative efforts supporting these goals: "Provisions from my Educational Choice for Children Act included in President Trump’s historic Working Families Tax Cut, further enables parents to take their children out of failing public schools and send them to private or charter schools through scholarships."
He concluded by stressing bipartisan support for school choice: "This isn’t a partisan issue. The American people want school choice. It’s supported by nearly three quarters of K-12 parents. Republicans overwhelmingly support school choice. Importantly, more than half of Democrats support it as well."
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