Burr, Tillis co-sponsor resolution honoring charter schools

North Carolina’s U.S. senators have joined a group focusing attention on the nation’s public charter schools. The news release below offers details.

WASHINGTON, May 8, 2018 — United States Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) today introduced a resolution celebrating the 19th annual National Charter Schools Week, which runs from May 7 through May 11, 2018 and commends the students, parents, teachers, and leaders of our nation’s more than 6,900 charter schools across 44 states and the District of Columbia.

Senator Alexander said: “The 2017-2018 school year was the first year that states and charter schools started to receive grants created under the 2015 law fixing No Child Left Behind, with the Department of Education awarding 34 new grant awards to open new, and replicate and expand high-quality, charter schools across the country. The new law, and the annual celebration of National Charter Schools Week, show continued bipartisan support for charter schools, which give teachers more freedom and parents more choice—and give students a real opportunity to attend a good school that’s right for them.”

Senator Bennet said: “All children should have the opportunity to attend a great school that equips them with skills for the 21st century economy. For many students in Colorado, charter schools provide the flexibility and innovative teaching they need to succeed. During National Charter Schools Week, we celebrate the teachers, school leaders, and parents who are committed to improving student learning around the country.”

The resolution is also cosponsored by Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), 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.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), David Perdue (R-Ga.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.).

Alexander, former U.S. Secretary of Education, and Bennet, former superintendent of the Denver public school system, are members of the Senate education committee, which passed bipartisan legislation, Every Student Succeeds Act, to fix No Child Left Behind in 2015 that helps states open, expand and replicate high-quality charter schools.