Expressing support for the Nation's local public K-12 schools and condemning any actions that would defund public education or weaken or dismantle the Department of Education.

49,000,000 students; Whereas reading and mathematics scores and college degree attainment have substantially increased since the Department of Education was established; Whereas the Department of Education is also a civil rights agency responsible for protecting students from discrimination and advancing educational equity and its Office for Civil Rights enforces Federal laws prohibiting discrimination and harassment, including investigating record numbers of incidents of discrimination and hate in recent years despite employing only about half of the staff the Office had when it was originally established; Whereas the Department of Education administers IDEA grants to help public schools serve more than 7,500,000 students with disabilities, a substantial financial commitment that cannot reasonably be assumed by State or local governments, and provides monitoring and oversight to hold States accountable for providing a free appropriate public education for students with disabilities; Whereas the Department of Education provides supplementary funding through ESEA title I-A grants to more than 51,000 public schools serving concentrated populations of students from low-income families in rural, suburban, and urban communities; Whereas the Department of Education provides funding through ESEA title IV-F to support full-service community schools, which partner with local stakeholders, parents, and families to provide common sense, locally driven solutions to the challenges students and families face; Whereas the Department of Education provides vital support to thousands of rural school districts through the Rural Education Achievement program under ESEA title V-B, which funds both the Small, Rural School Achievement grant program and the Rural and Low-Income School grant program; Whereas the Department of Education directly invests in the quality and effectiveness of nearly 90 percent of teachers and approximately 20 percent of school leaders nationwide through ESEA title II-A professional development grants, ultimately improving retention rates, addressing the nationwide educator shortage, and improving student achievement; Whereas the Department of Education provides supplementary funding to help more than 5,000,000 English-language learners achieve language proficiency and meet State academic standards through ESEA title III-A grants; Whereas the Department of Education provides supplementary funding to help tens of thousands of public schools provide well-rounded education, technology support, and school safety measures through ESEA title IV-A, IV-B, and IV-F grants; Whereas the Department of Education provides grants under ESEA title IV-E to support the work of Statewide Family Engagement Centers, which provide parent education initiatives, family engagement programs, and family- school partnerships; Whereas the Department of Education supports the education of Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native children, consistent with the historic trust responsibility, through ESEA title VI grants; Whereas the Department of Education provides funds to strengthen and support career and technical education programs for more than 8,200,000 secondary students across the country through title I of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (20 U.S.C. 2321 et seq.); Whereas the Department of Education provides necessary oversight so students have access to targeted interventions and services; Whereas the Department of Education protects students, families, and staff from discrimination based on race, color, or national origin under title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), based on sex under title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), and based on disability under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) so all individuals can access equal educational and employment opportunities; Whereas the Department of Education invests in research to understand and disseminate information about the interventions and practices that are most effective at providing excellent educational opportunities for all students; Whereas the Department of Education employs the smallest staff of any Department, with the lowest overall staff-to-budget ratio of all 15 Departments; Whereas dismantling or relocating any major offices within the Department of Education may substantially disrupt program administration and create a delay or loss of vitally important supports for students and funding for public schools across the Nation; and Whereas, without Federal investment, State and local educational agencies would be forced to enact drastic funding cuts that would disproportionately affect students from rural areas, low-income families, students of color, and students with disabilities, as well as harm American competition in the global economy: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives-- (1) strongly supports Federal investment in public K-12 schools and the students and families served by these schools; (2) affirms that the Department of Education plays a vital role in the Nation's system of public education; (3) affirms that the Federal Government's investment is important to the success of students in public schools, and investment in public education should not be diverted, including through the use of vouchers, to privately run K-12 schools; and (4) rejects any claim that the executive branch has the legal authority to, or would serve the Nation by-- (A) dismantling or relocating major offices within the Department of Education; (B) dismantling or relocating the Department of Education; or (C) reducing Federal funding for public education, blocking the granting of major Federal grant programs for education, or transferring funding burdens for education to State and local governments. <all>