THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

             PRESIDENT CLINTON RELEASES REPORT ON BENEFITS 
                OF CLASS SIZE REDUCTION, URGES CONGRESS 
                   TO FUND THIS IMPORTANT INITIATIVE

                           October 31, 1999   

President Clinton today will release a new report by the Council of the Great City Schools on the benefits of smaller classes for students in America's urban schools. The report demonstrates that the President's class size reduction initiative is helping schools across the nation improve student learning by enabling them to hire additional highly qualified teachers in the early grades, where students learn to read and master the basics. Urban districts report that the President's initiative is flexible enough to allow them to meet their unique needs but focused enough to ensure smaller classes in the early grades. Unfortunately, Republicans in Congress are now trying to renege on the bipartisan commitment made last year to fund this important initiative. President Clinton today will call on Congress to heed the voices of those at the community level who want to hire more high-quality teachers and give children smaller, more personal classes.

RAISING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT BY REDUCING CLASS SIZES IN THE EARLY GRADES. Last year, Congress made a down payment of $1.2 billion toward the President's goal of hiring 100,000 new teachers to bring class sizes in the early grades to a national average of 18. The first teachers hired with that down payment began teaching in classrooms nationwide this fall. Today, the President will call on Congress to honor its commitment and finish the job. Unfortunately, Republicans have passed an appropriations bill that eliminates the class size initiative and fails to guarantee that a single penny will be used to hire a single teacher to reduce the size of a single class. Research has shown that class size reduction in the early grades is one of the most direct and effective ways to boost children's academic achievement and build a solid foundation for further learning.

EDUCATION LEADERS EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PRESIDENT'S PLAN. In this report, the Council of the Great City Schools finds that there is strong demand for the dedicated resources provided by the President's class size reduction initiative -- and that these resources are making a tangible difference. The Council is an organization of the nation's largest urban public school systems, working to improve K-12 education in the inner city, and governed by superintendents and education board members from 58 cities across the country. The President has worked closely with this group and many others at the local level to fight irresponsible cuts in key investments for our children's future. Among the findings of the Council's report:

• Teachers hired under the class size reduction program are working in areas of highest need, including literacy, mathematics, bilingual and special education.
• Teacher quality is being enhanced through this program. Over 22,000 urban teachers are receiving high-quality training, and urban schools have been able to provide new and current teachers with critical training on instructional practices and technology.
• In just the first year of the President's class size initiative, 3,558 teachers have been hired in 40 of the nation's largest urban school districts to reduce class sizes in the early grades.

REPUBLICAN EDUCATION BILL IGNORES THE VOICES OF TEACHERS AND COMMUNITIES. Making targeted investments in class size reduction is a common-sense strategy that teachers and school leaders across the country support. And yet, as the President will point out today, Republicans in Congress are undermining such investments by breaking their pledge to dedicate funds for smaller classes and by shortchanging other key programs. The Republican education spending bill:

• Abandons the bipartisan commitment to fund the President's class size reduction initiative, and provides no guarantee that the teachers hired for this year can continue teaching. It also provides no funding for the 8,000 additional teachers the President's plan would support this year.
• Fails to hold schools accountable for results by providing no funds to turn around failing schools;
• Underfunds after-school and summer programs, denying as many as 800,000 students access to a safe place to learn during after-school hours when most juvenile crime and drug and alcohol abuse occur;
• Shortchanges teacher quality and recruitment programs, and eliminates the successful Troops to Teachers program that enables retired military personnel to teach in high-need areas;
• Underinvests in educational technology and the GEAR-UP program, denying more than 130,000 disadvantaged young people the help they need to get into college. Fails to fund the President's plan to build or modernize 6,000 schools across the country.