Civil and Human Rights Coalition: Flexible Funding Bill Would Raid Essential Resources Intended to Educate Disadvantaged Students

Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement regarding the State and Local Funding Flexibility Act:

“The State and Local Funding Flexibility Act would do immeasurable harm to our nation’s most vulnerable children. For decades, bipartisan majorities of Congress have agreed that disadvantaged students – including students living in high-poverty communities, those who need to learn English, and Native American students – should receive additional resources to ensure that they have equal access to quality education. Instead of strengthening that commitment, this bill would end it.  

There is never a time to abandon children struggling to succeed in impoverished communities and underresourced schools. There is never an appropriate time to raid the education funds intended to teach first and second generation Americans how to speak English or funds dedicated to improving educational opportunities for Native American or migrant students. In rural towns and big cities, the federal government has invested in these students because no child should be trapped in a substandard school and because we know that achievement gaps based on race or zip code must be addressed in order for our nation to remain strong.

The Leadership Conference is especially alarmed that Congress would consider repudiating its commitment to educational equity at a time when tight budgets and cutbacks in public services are shredding the social safety net for families across the nation. Education is, of course, the ultimate safety net and must be preserved if we are to keep the promise of economic mobility for families living in poverty.”

Wade Henderson is the president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.