Chairman Cassidy Delivers Remarks During Hearing on Strengthening Charter Schools, Expanding Students’ Access to Quality Education

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, delivered remarks during today's hearing on how charter schools meet students' unique learning needs, empowering parents to give their child their best chance at success.

Click here to watch the full hearing.

Cassidy's opening remarks as prepared for delivery can be found below:

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will please come to order.

There is nothing, nothing that a parent wants more than for their child to succeed and realize their potential. Beyond a parent and a grandparent, teachers have the greatest impact on a child's future.

Education is powerful. It can inspire. It can sharpen. It can lift entire generations out of poverty, opening up opportunities for children they otherwise may not have had; opportunity to achieve the American Dream. That is what we want for every child in America.

The better education system, the better the future of our country.

Charter schools are a critical piece of our educational system because they can tailor curriculums and teaching methods to meet a students' need. Every child is different - unique talents, interests, styles, and skills.

Unlike traditional public schools, charter schools are not restricted by bureaucratic red tape or zip codes. They provide personalized learning, which can lead to better outcomes.

By the way, there are plenty of great traditional public schools with fantastic teachers. I attended them. And if parents are pleased with their child's education, their child should stay there. But while some students thrive in a conventional public school, others struggle. A parent recognizing their child's needs are not being met at school, should be able to find a different school better addressing their child's needs. Try something which is a unique prescription for that parent's unique child.

Hope McDonald's child is dyslexic. At last month's roundtable she shared that her daughter's public school refused to recognize her dyslexia as a real disability, so she sent her child to a charter school for children with dyslexia.

Full disclosure, my wife is the CEO of four charter schools for children with dyslexia. Just like many parents, Hope and my wife are passionate about charter schools because they had to fight to find the best education for their children with dyslexia.

Ohio's Oakmont center is another charter school specializing in meeting "at risk" students where they are in order to achieve the students' academic achievement.

Other charter schools are skills and career focused, preparing students to enter the workforce.

Alabama's aerospace and aviation high school provides each student a customized "Flight Plan," offering hands on experience through aviation apprenticeships, internships, and ground-school training. By the time they graduate, they've worked alongside mechanics, learned aircraft systems and been prepared for credentials like commercial pilot or drone pilot licenses.

It's easy to see why this type of tailored education is increasingly popular. Since 2003, charter school enrollment increased over 370 percent, rising from 700,000 to well past 3.3 million students nationwide.

Unfortunately, charter schools are still under resourced; often lacking adequate facilities.

My Equitable Access to School Facilities Act enables charter schools to access public properties to fix this, ensuring students learn in quality facilities.

The Empower Charter School Educators to Lead Act, which I co-lead, also expands opportunities for charter schools, making it cheaper for prospective charter schools to open.

When it comes to the child's education, the parent should have the power. No one cares more than a parent that their child is well educated. Let's give the person who cares the most about her child's education, the power to shape that educational future.

With that, I recognize Senator Sanders for his opening statement.

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