Senate Passes Alexander, Bennet Resolution Celebrating 20th Annual National Charter Schools Week
“Charter schools give teachers more freedom to teach and parents more freedom to choose the school that best suits their child.”
WASHINGTON, May 14, 2019 — This week, the U.S. Senate passed Senate education committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Senator Michael Bennet’s (D-Colo.) resolution celebrating the 20th annual National Charter Schools Week, which runs from May 12 through May 18, 2019, and commends the students, parents, teachers, and leaders of our nation’s more than 7,000 charter schools across 44 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
“Charter schools give teachers more freedom to teach and parents more freedom to choose the school that best suits their child,” said Alexander. “As a result of the 2015 law fixing No Child Left Behind, the U.S. Department of Education has awarded 93 new grant awards to open new, and replicate and expand high-quality, charter schools in America. This National Charter Schools Week, we continue to show bipartisan support for charter schools, which give students a real opportunity to attend a school that’s right for them.”
“Every child deserves an excellent education that will prepare them for success in a twenty-first century economy,” said Bennet. “National Charter Schools Week is an opportunity to celebrate the teachers, leaders, and parents who work hard every day to expand students’ opportunities in life.”
The resolution is also cosponsored by Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Mike Braun (R- Ind.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Tom Carper (D- Del.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Christopher Coons (D-Del.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), David Perdue (R-Ga.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.).
Sen. Alexander is a former U.S. Secretary of Education, and Sen. Bennet is a former superintendent of the Denver public school system. Bennet served on the Senate education committee alongside Chairman Alexander when it passed the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015 which helps states open, expand and replicate high-quality charter schools.
The full text of the resolution is available here.
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