university professor jon meacham on his book on how americans overcame times of fear. a north carolina congressman will be with us to talk about priorities in the house. watch "washington journal". >> education secretary, testified on capitol hill about the departments priorities and federal education policy. this hearing covered school choice programs, vouchers, discrimination in schools and trial for-profit colleges. it begins with the chair of the education and workforce committee, virginia fox.

[inaudible conversation] [inaudible conversation] [inaudible conversation] [inaudible conversation] >> will come to order. thank you for being here. it's a privilege to welcome the secretary for her first appearance before the committee. i'm sure you will feel welcome today. just a few days ago we experienced another tragedy, this time at santa fe high school in texas. i will hear from you today about the work of the commission on

school safety. i know districts are struggling with how to address this issue and parents are concerned and scared. i hope today will be an opportunity for us to learn more about how to. as members are aware this was originally scheduled for december last year and had to be postponed. i think the secretary for her flexibility for working with the committee to make today's hearing possible. given that her primary responsibility to safely carry out the loss connected by congress, having this dialogue about priorities and activities is critical. while the constitution is clear.

[inaudible] [inaudible] for all of those and pursue. i believe on that point that we can agree. most of the members of the committee would agree that our constituents have strong feelings about the role of the policy. they can say the lesser washington the better. local control is interest in philosophy, it's a matter of practicality. we have seen that firsthand. two examples that come to mind are the work first innovation and opportunity act and the strengthening career these

reflect the simple fact that local control educational pursuit who just want to live successful lives we firmly believe that you have an obligation to provide students an excellent education the effective accountability -- i applaud states and school districts in the department for enforcing the law were also a believer in educational solutions.

will make decisions to make decisions for other students. other times except for the department the state local officials respond to the needs for the communities. for example, they had seven rules, rules carried the designation and had an annual impact on the economy for a hundred million or more. or adverse affect on the economy, jobs environment, public health, safety or state local governments. in 27 that was nearly 300%

increase in the regulatory burden on educational loan. that's why it's crucial that's why we have a strong and productive relationship with the secretary of education. i expect the hearing to be an important chapter in that relationship. it is been a pleasure getting to know you over your course at the department. i know what drives you to show up at work every day's the same thing that drives each of us. ensuring all students have access to an education. i applaud you to take this on. i look forward to hearing what you have done so far to restoring the authority to the rightful place. and the creative ways you have

found to open doors again, it's a pleasure to welcome you here today i now yield to ranking member for his opening remarks. >> thank you thank you for being here this morning. i want to express my deepest appreciation, this was the 16th school shooting this year and we must send gun safety and -- i appreciate your support. the idea that congress should be holding hearings on solutions and keeping students stay from gun violence and the majority has not heard our voices no have they heard the voices of students, parents or educators

crying out for action. and once again call them the majority to hold hearings immediately. we implement and enforce federal laws and covering 18200 school districts to more than 15 million students. everyone deserves high quality education, that's their right, responsibility and partnerships with states and localities to make it a reality. we look at the nations highest score that declared it separate to be inherently unequal to desegregate to provide equitable opportunities for all students. unfortunately the administration

has relentlessly chipped away at civil rights protections including civil rights protections and education. in 2017 they rescinded obama era reforms for mail servicing process and better manage their loans. where enabled them for discharge and if they went back to this. despite overwhelming -- it rolled back 72 documents and guidelines in special education. each year they've taken steps by proposing to delay the rule. it set to go into effect this july. and clarify that with school districts take action and ethnic disparities in identification and discipline of students of color with disability.

they have of proposed delay overwhelmingly opposed with individuals before disabilities. most recently the department office of civil rights stopped investigated cases that they previously resolve cases concerning assess abilities of students. today is the first opportunity for opportunities with this committee to ask about these issues. it is nearly a year and half into the tenure and such a delay of the oversight is such unprecedented it and it comes at a time when the need for meaningful oversight we have

serious questions about subgroups of students of i like the law. we undermined the try we have conflicts event. the secretary has found it would be more than talk and we would take action to prevent future shootings. instead, we see some blaming school safety on civil rights and threatening to roll back protections of students of color and with disabilities. we had asked the secretary questions about publicly rescinding the 2014 justice department school discipline

guidance package during the obama administration. they outlined how school districts can avoid racial disparities in discipline. especially regarding suspensions regarding school safety. rescinding that would be troubling in light of findings recently of the gal that show discipline disparities are no functional poor students acting out more as often the claim, the role of racial bias and prove racial and goodies cannot be ignored by the department. they appeared to be in full retreat at a time when all students need the department to stand with them, fight for them or protect the rights for quality public school education.

to put it plainly american students, parents and teachers deserve better. i look for to the testimony and having the opportunity to test these. i yield back. >> thank you. pursuant to committee rules 7c, all members will be submitting statements in the current record. it will remain open and 13 days to allow this material to be submitted for the official hearing record. it's my pleasure to introduce art witness, betsy is the secretary of the u.s. to permit of education. welcome. i ask you teresa right hand. do solemnly swear that the

testimony will are about to give us the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? let the record show that she answered in the affirmative. leme briefly reminds you of our lighting system. we typically allow five minutes for each person to represent the testimony. when we begin the light in front of you will begin, when one minutes left the light will turn yellow. of the five minute mark the light will turn red. your recognize for five minutes. >> thank you. ranking member, thank you for the opportunity to testify. a place to show provide an update. our commitment to student success is when we must renew every day. we must ensure children are safe

at school. when evil visited parkland florida, shocked us and angered us. it pained us. the tragedy in santa fe high school was only the most recent devastating reminder that our nation must come together to address the underlying issues that create a culture of violence. were committed to keeping our nation students and teachers safe at school. i've directed my department to do everything to encourage the states and districts to take advantages of flexibilities. a playset attorney general sessions secretary nielsen join me on a federal commission at school safety. were seeking input and law-enforcement officials, mental health professionals, school counselors, and they were who is focused on identifying and elevating practical

solutions. the primary responsibility rests with states and local communities. we look forward to having best findings by year-end. i like to share exciting progress in key areas and discuss key areas were pursuing. i commend you for your leadership tree forming the higher education act to the prospect. this is where we share great fat passion. we'll catch up to today and tomorrow students. i look forward to working with congress to advance meaningful reform. i know the president looks were designing it into law. in 2015 ewing to proceed power.

the bipartisan message was clear, local communities are the best. it is my hope and turned the states and local school districts will duel the right thing and empower principals teachers and parents. teachers and parents know best how to meet the needs. we worked to make sure they meet the requirements and i approve 46 plants. the true test is house states and school districts turns this into action. we look forward to the progress being made. the department is in the process of reviewing current regulations and guidance to ensure they are

relevant, necessary and in the best interest of students. were removing regulations including the many rendered obsolete. we intend to announce rulemaking to address higher education rulemaking which stifle innovation and unnecessarily burdening the agencies and institutions. to ensure fairness. schools must continue to confront these issues head-on including the incidence that all too often arrive. the adjudication process must be fair and impartial giving everyone, survivors, the accused parents and institutions or confidence in its outcomes.

relying on letters from unelected clinical appointees drafted behind closed doors, as i said when we announce the changes, they are overruled by letter is over. the consensus on the left and right is the prior administration aired when it failed to engage the public through rulemaking on this issue. we plan to release a notice in the coming months. were in the process of rulemaking onto regulations that were poorly designed. these rules must protect students from bad-faith actors. they must also treat institutions and taxpayers fairly.

these are under review at all and be and we expect a publish for public comment soon. perhaps the next generation financial service environment will be the most significant improvement to administering student aid and bit decades. it will modernize the approach of service to provide world-class experience and improve outcomes. i look forward to working on the committee to work with students. they do not have the time for adults to tinker around the edges. we must make bold changes that allow students to pursue an education that meets their

unique needs. i challenge the department and teachers, administrators, parents and leaders to rethink school. rethink means we must question everything. regardless of how difficult or sensitive it might be to ensure nothing limit students or leaves them unprepared. it's past time test questions that are labeled nonnegotiable. questions such as, wire students grouped by age? what is schools close for the summer? why can't a student learned his or her own pace? why are they limited based on faculty and facility available? there are many more. we must rethink education after high school and embrace the fact that a global economy demands ' lifelong learning.

education does not end with the movement of a tassel. we must put to rest that the only path to success is a four-year degree. we look forward to working with congress to ensure the prosper act addresses this need. finally we need to rethink the department. we've developed a plan to help the taxpayer. the department must protect the rights of students, especially the most foldable while empowering parents, teachers and local leaders to identify the best ways to meet the unique needs of the students they serve. these reforms are not rooted in ideology nor designed to benefit one group over another. their focus on the students, parents, teachers i meet each week and millions more like them. all they ask is for the opportunity to learn, teach, grow in an exciting and

challenging environment. no student in america should ever be denied the equal opportunity to grade education. we work each day to fulfill that promise. thank you for the opportunity to share where we have been and where we are going. i look forward to answering your questions. >> thank you i'm going to begin the questioning this morning. thank you for mentioning the prosper act. see note contains provisions to help them gain skills entered the workforce and have careers. one provision is similar to expand eligibility of the pell grant program to students in short-term programs. please share the importance of expending students access to obtaining skills for into man

jobs. we all know that today there are low percentage of students entering a four-year college and university. students need options to pursue great careers and high-paying jobs. we need to have and to allow for high quality shorter-term certification and credentialing programs it's imperative that. >> it's imperative that those who default on their students loan they get the service they need to repair their credit. they're so overwhelmed with

accounts that they cannot respond in real-time to all borrowers proactively reaching out for help with their loans. what is the department doing to ensure there's capacity among contractors to provide immediate service to borrowers seeking to rehabilitate the loans? >> we share your concern to make sure students are taking care of and well service when they take on debt and loans. as we continue to move forward this pathway we need to know what's going on with what's best for students. we will be able to do that better in the future. >> thank you. i'm going to yell to the ranking member for his questioning.

>> the act provides for 15 billion-dollar cotton student a, is that right? >> i'm not sure i agree with that. >> to have another number? >> it's an approach to giving students more flexibility pursuing the higher education. >> a 15 billion-dollar cut? do you have another number? >> i have heard that, i don't necessarily take that perspective. >> public service loan is in a debacle they're in the process of fulfilling that. how long has the department known about that. speaking of the teacher grant

program? we are aware of the issues in that program. we have taken steps to address the issues. do you need. >> to need legislation to fix a? >> i don't believe so. >> can we expect the same debacle to happen when students are completing their loan forgiveness? >> were committed to fulfilling this in the under the public service loan agreement. you don't need any legislation to help the. >> i don't believe so. >> under the everyone succeeds act there's members of congress including several caucuses sent you a letter expressing the disappointment it appeared your

plans to violate the law do you intend to respond to the letter. >> i have not approved any plan that does not go with the law. >> you intend to respond to both the letter. >> the letter will be responded to indeed. i'm i have given you my commitment before and again that no plans are approved that do not correspond and conform with the law. >> the law requires to reduce the achievement gap. some plans that have been approved provide the ranking of schools will not include subgroup performance. how do you comply with the law to require reduction in achievement gaps if the ranking of schools doesn't include the

calculation of this performance? >> all of the plans i approve follow what the law requires. we will continue to do so. >> how does it conform to the law of subgroup performance is not part of that calculation? . .

whatever the law states. >> what does the law state? >> the plans that i have approved follow the law. >> what is the requirement? >> the question is what the law does not include that you have wished it did, i will not add to the law. i will follow the law. >> i'm just asking what you think the law is that you are following. >> to every students succeed act as passed by this body. >> and based on subgroup performance you are required and the states are required to reduce the achievement gap. i'm just asking how can you do that if you don't calculate performance. >> we certainly hope that every state will not only do what the law requires but will go above and beyond and work to close the

achievement gap for every student that they served with in their state. >> the gentleman's time has expired. mr. wilson you are recognized for 5 minutes. >> thank you madam chairwoman. madam secretary thank you for your extraordinary service for american families and teachers. as a grateful husband of an educator i appreciate your efforts to revive quality education. i'm also grateful for the service of the superintendent secretary-general as the nation's deputy education secretary. secretary and his wife susan served ably as the president and first lady of newbury college in south carolina. i'm also proud of his ukrainian heritage. what a great team you make. madam secretary i believe american students have the right to know if the education they

are receiving his propaganda produced by a foreign government. currently it exploits loopholes in the current law to promote "politico" agenda of its government while stifling of posing the appointed one such example is the confucius institute of nonprofit public education organization affiliated with china that has been surrounded by controversy regarding influencing teaching curriculum and censorship of speech. a former senior leader of the communist party of china in charge of propaganda the confucius institutes are quote an important part of china's overseas propaganda set up end of quote. he further stated quote it is made an important contribution toward improving the soft power. the confucius plan using the excuse of teaching chinese

language everything looks reasonable and logical end of quote. currently they are 103 active confucius institutes in the united states with hundreds more classrooms in k-12 schools. recently entered a stage or 5336 , the foreign influence transparency a.c.t. which would require institutions of higher education to disclose the context of entered into with sources such as the confucius institutes as well as the dollar amount received where they have facilities co-located with advanced research laboratories. do you share my concern about the influence of foreign political parties and nationstates in the education of our students and would you agree more transparency with foreign actors in our nations colleges and universities? >> congressman thank you for that question and thank you for your comment earlier about the deputy secretary. i'm thrilled to be able to work with him and appreciate the work that he has done in south

carolina. i share your concern about the possibility of foreign government influence anywhere in our country. while it is more a state institutional issue to deal with i think having transparency around foreign government financial contributions into any school or any institution would be an important consideration. >> thank you for your assistance and input. the every student succeeds plan is including career readiness as a measure to report the percentage of our high school students who are career ready by the time of graduation. legislators have been involved in determining the career readiness credentials needed for these jobs. last year the house passed h.r. 2353 the bipartisan strengthening career in technical education act of the 21st century which would

reauthorize the act. unfortunately the senate has not taken up this important piece of legislation. with the growing industry in our state creating jobs throughout the country to greater need for skilled workers how do you perceive the role of federal government assistance in high school and middle school levels specifically with their rural districts? >> thank you for that question. the very good question. the reauthorization support career and technical education is of a most importance i believe as we look at how we best support students today and tomorrow. the flexibilities around allowing for students in high school to begin earning college credit, to begin getting a taste of what could be beyond high school to have a friday of the earned and learned options afforded them.

all of these are areas that i think need to be built upon an expanded and i commend regional and local community leadership particularly in the business community engaging with educational institutions to really think about what the needs are today and tomorrow and to help create relevant programs and possibilities for students. >> thank you very much. >> the gentleman time has expired. >> thank you madam chairwoman and secretary devos thank you for joining us today. i'm going to ask you a little bit about for-profit and nonprofit schools. as of last august about 100,000 borrowers had filed complaints with the department of education saying that they had been misled by their school. can you tell me what proportion of those came from students who attended public institutions? >> congresswoman thanks for that

question. the exact percentage of students from for-profit versus not-for-profit schools, i don't know the breakdown of that specifically but we have, we have inherited tens of thousands of these claims when i came into office and for the ones that were very clearly to be decided, those were able to be taking care of very quickly but frankly beyond that there was no process of no framework in order to consider these and we have now been able to put that process together and have been able to address these pending claims very promptly and are continuing to do so. >> if you are focusing on those do you have any idea the percentage of nonprofit institutions? >> as you know it's primarily from two large institutions and

a significant percentage of those were from those institutions. >> i understand that 1% of public institutions and less than really 1% for nonprofit actually have students who felt that they had been misled by their school and i'm just wondering i mean 90% of colleges and remarks students in the nonprofit, that's a large percentage of for-profits that students are reporting on which you indicated. what do those numbers tell you? >> well, fraud in any case is not to be tolerated and i think we have to be very clear about that. we need to ensure that students that have been to frauded, but that is taken into consideration

with regards to their student debt and dealt with appropriately. we need to make sure that students go into higher education with their eyes wide open about what they are buying. >> do we have a role though, does the federal government have a role in that? 200 more ended up filing those complaints. there really is a difference between these institutions and i'm wondering with the eyes on this that you suggest, do you have any idea how many people have been dedicated to this broad? what i understand as there were some numbers somewhere like 27 perhaps the personnel. do you know how many are doing that today? >> from within federal student aid? we have been dedicated to this and continues to be and we have

added to that number i believe in order to help. >> do you have any idea how many now? >> i don't have the figure specifically looking at these claims today but the process is one that has been in place and has been augmented in order to ensure that the backlog that we have inherited is able to be addressed. >> i know madam chairman brought up the issue of grant semi-hope that you have a number of people that are dedicated to looking at that issue right now because certainly i think people are very concerned when i hear about that and it really falls on the department. i wanted, you mentioned the quick story by the san diego veteran and for-profit schools. he was promised to be what announces school that he would be able to get a far better job

to transition from the navy. taxpayers spend about $50,000 on his education. he spent three years of his life in a per -- for-profit institution and i'm sure -- now that was the case. should there be recourse in this situation and rolling under false pretenses? >> again i think we have to be very serious and intentional about rooting out fraud and we need to ensure that students have a wide range and full and appropriate information when entering into programs that they are pursuing. >> as you look at the new regulations which i think have been delayed and i really hope this will be addressed. >> thank you ms. davis. mr. guthrie you are recognized for 5 minutes. >> thank you madam chairwoman and thank you secretary for being here today. i want to talk about apprenticeship something we are working on together and hoping to figure out what the federal

role at the state and local level and apprenticeships. you and i have similar backgrounds. your family is a bigger scale the mind that the same, your personal family in aluminum casting industry. i think of everyone in west michigan and when i first got in the business had been trained moving forward. i think it's great because it's certainly a family legacy. they are trying to implement what they do in switzerland here in the united states to take care of the people who aren't going to college. they are creating career path i was just amazing what we saw there and be like to see those opportunities here. i know that you served on the task force for an apprenticeship would you like to describe where you are going with that in the roadmap on apprenticeships?

>> thanks congressman for that question really for your focus and interest in this area. earn and learn opportunities are really important to be developed and made available to young people as they pursue their education and their careers beyond high school. i think the apprenticeship task force has brought forward a couple dozen maybe slightly more recommendations on how to really improve the number and wide range of offerings around apprenticeships. as you know our nation doesn't have quite the same tradition of apprenticeships and earn and learn opportunities and switzerland and germany and we can learn a lot from industry there and the work there. we are committed to finding and encouraging the growth of these apprenticeship opportunities working with business to develop

industry recognized credentialing options and programs and so i will be working closely with secretary of costa. were it duties and responsibilities overlap where we can advance these opportunities as swiftly and broadly as possible for students. >> i think what we are trying to figure together is what the federal data local roeliff and the idea of doing this from the idea of allowing people to use apprenticeships and leading to electrician credentials and so forth. mr. wilson talked about the fact that the cts not been reauthorized and i don't want to put you on the spot but what would that mean for the president's priorities if you are able to get a new cte? >> reauthorization or the up

dating of the act is important because a lot of the framework under which cte is operating today is a look backwards versus a look at where we are and to look forward and we need to have more flexibility for these programs to really serve the needs of students today and meet the needs of the industry. so it really is a very important consideration. i would encourage and urge the senate to take it up very quickly. >> thank you and i just want to point to something that is in my commonwealth. about every committee that has any type of jurisdiction that deals with opioids and have taken the lead in our jurisdiction are you trying to attack us from every angle. in fy2019 budget you are looking

at school-based opioid abuse transformation climate grants and can you talk about that? >> thank you. we all know this is a really serious problem in our country and the budget proposal that has $43 million in it for school to look at school programs that are doing well in educating young people to avoid these drugs and this trap in the future. we will be highlighting and helping to replicate some of these programs that are working well at the state and local level. i just can't stress enough how important it is to really focus on the prevention of kids and young people getting involved with these drugs to begin with and awareness of how quickly it happens. i just offer a personal and the

goat. i have a very close friend, my husband and i have a very close friend who just adopted their 2nd infantry gambit was born with a methadone addiction and the little boy was just able to leave the hospital after 29 days of withdrawal treatment. the hospital they were in who received this little boy has a third of the new babies on average the worn drug addict did. this is a serious, serious issue. >> thank you and i yelled back. >> the gentleman time has expired. mr. grijalva you are recognized for 5 minutes. >> thank you secretary. one general question and one specific question. you mentioned your point rethinking education and how we are delivering that vital

service to the american people. in arizona and west virginia, oklahoma colorado, north carolina students have been walking out of their classrooms to the capitol because they are fed up with the lack of investment in education. i'm speaking specifically to arizona. teachers walk out of their classrooms for a variety of reasons. one was compensation. the other one was the history of 10 years in a row off tax breaks to the wealthiest corporations in the state and that money diverted away from education. education money diverted to for-profit schools in the state voucher program. school facilities, technology, instructional materials all lacking and the changed

demographics of the state and one out of every three or four kids in the state if not more come from poverty from economically challenged homes. english learners being of predominant part of the population and students with disabilities. i mention all of these things because that's why they walked out. the movement spoke to the lack of investment. my general question is teachers are telling you and congress. what do you think? >> thank you congressman for the question. let me just say there's no one more important to students education and the great teacher and i think great teachers need to be supported. i think they should be compensated and i think they should be treated as professionals.

i contend that the system as it exists today doesn't treat them as professionals. it really forces all of them into a system, into a box and it gives them very little opportunity for personal development. i think this is an area we need to rethink when it comes to education, honoring and respecting great teachers and treating them as the professionals that they are and should be. >> teachers are telling us to rethink the policies and decisions that have been made that a force them into a situation where they have to make the difficult decision of walking out of their classroom and that they have committed to teaching. i think they are telling us to rethink what we are doing and

the state of arizona would be to roll back the -- in redirected back into the education funds we can deal with the lack of investments that have occurred had what specific questions have to do with the office, the office of english learners that have a directorship in that and the population is growing as you well know. the directorship position is being eliminated. do you feel you have the authority to implement the consolidation that you are doing and eliminating the direct or ship or do you feel that you will need congressional approval for that? >> sierra think what you are for two as part of our reorganization proposal and plan i really believe that programs

need to be able to work together and share information and make one another better. what i've learned over the last year at the department of education that over the years many silos have developed and there is very little information shared and very little synergy created between the different program areas. our proposal is actually to really develop all of these important pieces and parts to k-12 education and how we best serve the students to really make everything better as a result. the proposal is to actually elevate and make it more important rather than diminish its importance. >> the office of english language off -- was established into law and do we need approval

to eliminate that? >> were for the law requires change of course it's up to congress whether to approve it or not. >> i yield back madam chairman. >> thank you mr. grijalva. >> thank you madam chairwoman and madam secretary thank you for being here and having had an opportunity to be up close and personal to your tilly's for the past number of decades across-the-board in education excellence and not just a one-size-fits-all and not just parochial but also public activities that you have done across michigan as well as the united states putting personal effort towards that, not just talk. i appreciate that and i had an opportunity to talk to some of the teachers at you have and hands. they are not talking about walking out. they are talking about the unit

plays where their students are primary and their given all of the support necessary. i'm talking about a public charter academy that i had the chance to walk through. the whole strata of students that were there was exciting to see so appreciate that. madam secretary you previously stated that your budget focuses on improving educational opportunities and outcomes for all students while also returning power to the people closest to the students. please elaborate on how returning to the people the closest to the students in states localities parents and teachers helps to improve opportunities and outcomes for the students. >> thanks congressman for that question. i have enjoyed working with you over the years to really help students become everything they can be when they are able with their parents to make the right educational choice for

themselves and that really is what we are talking about here. those who are close to the students know them the best and classroom teachers i believe need to have a lot more autonomy and flexibility to meet the needs of the students in their classrooms. not long ago i had a session with a number of teachers, classroom teachers that had been teachers of the year in their state or district. i would like to understand why. two of person how much they were loved teaching but after they had done their victory lap for the year and district teacher of the year they came back to their schools and were basically encouraged to get back in their classroom and not make any more noise. one of them said they got tired of hearing that we are having

too much fun. another one said if i wasn't on page 72 of the textbook of this day i had my wrist slapped. the frustration that they expressed a think it's indicative of a system that for too long has tried to control everything from above and has not respected and honored that needs of the individual students at the most local level and a parents desire and of teachers wanting to be able to meet their students needs and not having the flexibility to do things differently. that's one of the things i talk about when i talk about rethinking school. we have got to get back into a mode where we have more creativity, where we have more flexibility and we expect results but we have a lot more

variety in the way we get to those results. no two children are the same. they all learn differently and so when we talk about trying to do things at a local level for every single child to have that opportunity and the spark that send them to get not only lifted a little more but stoked in a major way. >> our efforts at reauthorizing the higher education act you have expressed some support for that. it would reform the formula to distribute dollars based on program recipients. is updating the federal work-study formula something the department supports? >> yes. >> right of the flexibility is not therefore especially some of

the colleges in my district that is expanding and growing. we hope that you will work with that. i see my time is about to expire i yield back. >> thank you mr. walberg. mr. courtney were recognized for 5 minutes. >> thank you madam chairwoman. the comment regarding to 15 billion-dollar cut to higher education that is not an opinion. that is a cbo score and madam secretary that is what we have to abide by and look at as policymakers only vote on legislation like that. madam secretary this is not your first trip to the house. a year ago you were here before the house appropriations committee and at the time those of us from connecticut were taken off guard by the fact that you spoke to a gentleman named michael in connecticut who described east harbor high

school as a low functioning high-risk environment. you describe come you "him describing the school is nothing more than a dangerous daycare. within 48 hours congressman john larson my colleague who attended east harbor high school and taught at the high school the school superintendent for east hartford and also students wrote to you directly. again 48 hours objecting to the characterization that you publicly stated as the highest education official in the land. the state is still not received a response. in fact two weeks later the senate repealed the story and according to the local newspaper outlets in the state of connecticut you have told that story four times in public. again for the record -- record madam chairman i asked the

dispute put into the record. thank you and i would just note again the invitation was given in those letters for you to come and visit which again has not occurred so i thought maybe i would bring a little bit of east hartford high school. the building on the right is the main facility for the high school. it is attached to a second structure which is a high school magnet school constructed within the last 10 years in a gentleman he spoke with graduated 17 years ago. that is who you cited is some kind of exporter someone who nosed east hartford high school. that magnet school which shares a facility with a student at east hartford high school was ranked number two of all high schools in the state of connecticut by "u.s. news and world report", 120 5 in the entire country is in terms of

high schools. these numbers in terms of absenteeism and test scores have been going up something in which the superintendent pointed out to you and correspondence which you still to this day have not responded to it i know a little bit about this because a magnet school is a place where my daughter attended school. she graduated in 2013. my wife is a pediatric nurse and she would not send our daughter to a dangerous environment so again number one would you please respond? the letters that were written politely to the facts the current facts regarding the programs that are happening at east hartford high school which u.s. news and business report has recognized. >> thanks congressman for that question and for your e. for east hartford high school. i'm very pleased to hear -- . >> if you would respond to the

letters. >> as soon as i get enough of my staff in place to appropriately respond -- . >> a year is really pretty good latitude in terms of responding to the mail and secondly will you please accept the invitation to come and see for yourself what's happening there? what you will see it the accountable magnet school approach which your department and your budget have been underfunding at the same time you up in overfunding unaccountable charter schools which again is part of the ideology of the department what you will see is that magnet approach which promotes diversity for students as well as quality and actually is accountable to the public and the taxpayer which again is clearly getting the lion's share of the budget you up have been sending over. again i would encourage you to answer your mail and after year

if you would come up to connecticut and see whether or not this gentleman whose 17-year-old story has been take -- overtaken by real-life and without i yield back. >> thank you mr. courtney. >> i think the chairwoman. good morning secretary. i appreciate you being here. i want to correct the record first of all and the discussion we are having about the budget. i serve as vice chairman of the budget committee and as i look at this cbo score i can tell you the prosper act reallocates taxpayer dollars from unfair programs and appel dollars low income to access post-secondary education to post-secondary education poofy take into account the entire cbo score for the bill my fellow members of

the committee you will find rather than cutting $15 billion in student aid the prosper act proposes to impact close to $30 billion in the pell grant program resulting in additional 7 million pell grant recipients over the next 10 years. that is in the cbo report as well. i would appreciate my colleagues reviewing the entire cbo score to see the reality of the situation and of course limited to the 1974 budget act and understanding that we can only score things in the static scenario not necessarily a dynamic scenario that accounts for the flexibility and real-life. madam secretary recently had the chance to visit with teachers in every corner of our state and

based on the story that you explained a couple questioners again about people who were frustrated. she was running for political office so i can't talk about the kind of teacher she is but she certainly was engage in their community. both of them she said which caught my attention immediately she said she was quitting. she had enough and fellow teachers were hanging it up. to why and she let me know that it was still the data collection and the federal government this in state government that and she wasn't able to -- . for 5 or six years i helped write on this committee which "the wall street journal" called the biggest devolution of power.

the federal government to the state government from any bill on any subject in the last 20 5 years. i thought we were doing good. that message or that reality hasn't reached conversations i have had with teachers in our superintendent then there pulse at least in the state of indiana. i've would like you to talk to the teachers of my state and tell them what is really happening here. we said i hate to use the word approval. as long as you address some parameters, as long as they were covered in the plan you were to quote unquote approved it and make it transparent for the voters and taxpayers. that was the transfer of power that local state that would have

>> thank you congressman for the russian. the act does give a lot of flexibility back to the states and each state has the opportunity to take that same flexibility and bring it down to the district and community level i have urged and encouraged them to do so and i think if that is executed seriously that teachers will find themselves with a lot more flexibility and autonomy. think about a couple of schools that i have visited in your home state and a couple of them that are doing things differently. one of them the indianapolis public school system has opted to be an innovation school and take itself out of the system per se still supported with some services but has organized itself internally with its own leadership, its own teaching

staff that is accountable to the leadership and very self-contained and autonomous in terms of making decisions around faculty and leadership within the school. the results according to the teachers and the leadership i have talked with have been remarkable. students achievements have continued to rise in the two years since they have undertaken this and they are able to do things so much more flexibly and make changes so much more quickly in response to the needs of students. they have determined that having a saturday morning session for a few hours to help students who are struck with the a good idea. they had that up in implemented in less than a month. they say if we were part of the regular system it would still be under consideration a year and a half later so i used that as an example of what can be. i think of another school,

essentially a charter school that is focused on kids coming out of addictions that want to continue their studies. they have opted to be there to continue in their treatment program but to focus on completing their high school and in many cases earning a year or two of college credits. >> adam secretary your time has expired. you are recognized for 5 minutes. >> thank you very much and thank you very much madam secretary. you have been anchors play a waiting for 16 months and it's a pleasure to meet you. let me clear up something that my colleague just said about pell grants. it is really alternative facts. they are going up because we are allowing more low-performing

programs just like fraudulent for-profit schools. madam secretary the chairwoman is probably correct that education is not mentioned anywhere in the constitution but in fact it's mentioned in the law the very same law that you were sworn to defend and equal access for a quality education for all children, not some children, all children including public school children including english-language learning and further your charge to ensure they be held to the same standards of accountability. i'm concerned about the low performance of your civil rights office. can you state for me the mission of your civil rights office? >> thank you congressman for the

question. the office for civil rights is committed to protecting the civil rights as determined under the law of this land and we do so proudly and with great focus each day. >> that is not the mission statement. do you know what it is? that's okay. >> i have not memorized the mission statement. >> please explain to me what you believe to be vigorous enforcement. >> it would be following and enforcing the law as stated. >> okay. you do believe the office of civil rights in filing those procedures that were put forth since 1964 the civil rights act? >> do i believe the office is

following that law? he yes indeed i do. >> what lead you to believe that they are? >> i'm confident that the team assembled there has a dedicated career staff and a political staff who have continued to focus on doing so with great professionalism. >> i'm not understanding. >> we have not done any such thing. >> i think i've heard enough. thank you very much madam chairwoman. >> thank you. the gentleman yields back. mr. barletta you are recognized for 5 minutes. >> thank you chairwoman and thank you secretary devos for being here today. 10.2 million children are in after-school programs that the parents of another 19.4 million children say their children to participate if the program were

available. in pennsylvania we are delving on the successes of a program called schools of education or shine. since 2781% of their students participating in shine improve their homework completion and 99% advanced to the next grade level in 7 improve their academic performance. at thing we have seen in the original programs are now being replicated in lucerne county and that is at the same results and i could not be prouder of this program could i like to highlight a few of the facts that are unique to shine which i believe would be incorporated into other after-school programs for it first and foremost shined as an exceptional job of involving parents in the progress of other child through home visits and other approaches this critical that parents have a stake in their child's success second they approached they take

it shine utilizes regular teachers to operate the program. these teachers know the ins and outs of how students learn and they are both to build on that approach from three to six. shyne stresses dunn education with the arts included. teachers have a better understanding of students need the individualized education plan for each student. before any student who wants a shined program teachers are cooked with a blueprint that will help that particular student learn. this works well for exchanging information to administrators teachers and parents. ultimately the program does a great job of working with schools and homes together to achieve the best academic and career outcomes for the student. secretary devos thank you for your willingness to engage on the subject during our meeting last month and the innovative

approach that shyne offers and the result that has been able to produce. think would benefit many students across the country. how can we encourage these practices from the federal level and when relevant showcase them for other potential programs and to take advantage of them? >> thank you congressman for that question your obvious advocacy for that program in your district. we did indeed talk about it and it's very inspiring to hear about the results and the impact it's having. i think the role that the department can play isn't helping encourage other districts and other communities to adopt a program such as this to ensure we have the information available to those who are looking for these kinds of tests and tried programs. we need to be able to do so on a

place that's easy to access and readable and approachable. >> i want to switch gears and talk about something is very important to me and that is the safety of our students at school. i've been calling french priest protections for schools as they are absolute part of our nation's critical infrastructure and deserve the same treatment as federal agency buildings and capitol buildings. following the tragic school shooting in parkland florida president trump formed the commission on school safety. this commission brings together agency heads including dhs secretary nielsen and yourself. my understanding is the school safety commission met back in march. can you elaborate on the commission's goals and what is the timeline for the commission moving forward and what sorts of results and information can students teachers on law enforcement expect? >> thank you for the question

regarding the school safety commission. we been in the process of putting the objective together for the commission. we had a meeting this last week. one of the first broader listening sessions. we received updates from those involved in commissions and reports from previous tragedies to find out what can be learned from there. we also listen to parents and students who have had a child killed in one of these terrible tragedies as well. going forward we will soon have a timeline to be published more broadly. we are looking forward to listening every interest group, every constituency particularly teachers, parents and law enforcement school leadership that having close to these

situations and ones that have taken intentional steps to address safety in their own school and their own community. the outcomes will be really raising up practices, ideas that have been implemented and communities across the country but may not be broadly known with the goal of ensuring that schools and communities are knowledgeable of the resources available and have the tools to be able to make the right decisions for them to protect there on buildings in their own communities. >> mr. barletta your time has expired. >> thank you madam chair and educators have been protesting at our state capitols because frankly they are fed up with the lack of investment in education

reflected in increasing class size and teacher pay reflected in the lacking the basic classroom resources that they need to succeed in pueblo colorado teachers were striking for the first time in 20 5 years in urban and rural areas pre-teachers are struggling to afford to live because the pay is so low. i think we all agree one of the most important ways the federal government show support for teachers is through investment title ii key lever for supporting committees development professional development. for second year in a broder department has recommended the elimination of title ii abe. millions of dollars are lost for colorado schools which could lead to additional teacher layoffs. after the elimination of title ii a for the second time what is your department trying to do to show support for teachers and the workforce? >> thanks congressman for that question but as you know as it

relates to the budget decisions were made as to where to recommend resources be focused and that particular provision to which you refer has not been demonstrated to be impactful so all that is to say of flexibility in other funding streams really canon should be focused on helping ensure teachers have the opportunity to continue to develop their craft and their skills. we do need to ensure that they have the kind of opportunities that are necessary for them to continue to develop in their professions. >> title ii a does have a lot of funding for districts and i've seen those funds implemented very well in a team training environment. in regard to another issue have you overheard case is whitaker versus kenosha school district?

>> of vague familiarization. >> and whitaker versus kenosha the 7th circuit ruled sex-based discrimination is illegal wherein the school doesn't allow transgender student to use the bathroom in -- it is in violation of the equal protection clause to discriminate against someone based on gender nonconformity. this is than the lava lamp in our basic civil rights statutes. congress has entrusted the department education all students in educational system to what are your plans to address out of the queue education in our schools? >> congressman thanks for the question. i'm committed and we are committed to protecting civil rights under the civil rights law and have continued to do so. part of what you have referred

to with regard to transgender students, the courts have been mixed on that and this body has not opined or updated. >> reclaiming my time they stand as current interpretations of the u.s. civil rights laws pointed to know how you will instruct the department of education to it here to the law of presidents and begin practically protecting transgender students from discrimination. >> were committed to ensuring that the law is followed in protecting students civil rights as written in the law and we have done so in and we will continue to do so. >> i want to be clear that the law and current precedent, correct? >> of this body has not opined or added to it. >> whitaker versus kenosha

stands. those are current interpretations of the law and i want to make sure your department -- . >> there are other opinions that conflict with that. until the supreme court opines her until this body takes action i'm not going to make a law for the department of education. >> those laws are enforced. with regard to special education we know that students with special needs face higher discipline. the federal government has never managed to find i.d. eight. i want to know if your plans to include students with disabilities. >> i'm very much committed to upholding the provisions of the i.d.e.a. and to continue to be focused on the fact that we need to ensure that all students with disabilities have the opportunity to pursue their education.

>> will you work with congress to fully fund the i.d.e.a.? >> i will work with congress to be focused on the needs of those students. >> i yield back the balance of my time. >> thank you mr. foley. mr. byrne. >> secretary devos thank you for being here today and thank you for coming to mobile last august and spending time in our schools. you remember going to me with the xl academy and those were high school students some of whom who were in great danger of dropping out. they were doing innovative things reaching out to students that otherwise would just be left behind. i was touched by your concern for them as individuals. what is the department doing to try to address students like those? >> thanks congressman. i enjoyed the visit and was very

much inspired by what we learned at the xl academy and other similar approaches across the country. we need to ensure that all students have the opportunity to pursue education and when they fall down somewhere in that process that they have an option to try to get back up on their feet again and to move forward. we need to ensure that flexibilities are granted and allowed for at the state and local level so those sorts of schools can develop without limitation and overregulation and in fact we encourage them to do so. i know that your community has come around the school and has supported it. the business community has supported it. we need to see a replication of that across the country.

we do that best when we ensure there is the kind of flexibility at the local level to be able to take those steps. >> we appreciate that and obviously you understand that those are not throwaway kids. i want to talk about something that is near and dear to the hearts of everyone and it's a bipartisan issue and that technical education. also the maritime training facility. we had younger adults in their and they do innovative things to create a workforce for the navy near there. how went toward miss the program to that and other type programs around the country? >> i think an update and a renewal and modernization of it is really important and seeing the approach that was taken at

that particular facility was engaging students of many different ages and giving them a new path forward for a great career and many if not most of them have party being guaranteed a job upon completion of their program. those are the sorts of opportunities that we need to see replicated across the country. and doing so with the kind of flexibility that needs to be afforded at the federal level against the reauthorization. i hope that will happen soon. spin we have had a few conversations over there. the final point i wanted to bring up as we also went to a public school council. the kids had uniforms on and it struck me there that what we have is a school of very high

standards. you remember those kids came from oliver mobile county from all walks of life equally african-american and white. those kids had incredible test scores. what can we do at the federal level to ramp the size the high standards for every school in america? >> i think we continued to about the expectations of standards will be high and achievement expectations need to be high. i think we also continue to support new approaches to education like this magnet school had. it was new in the sense that they were offering current and future relevant coursework but it was also classical and the sunsetted gave her a foundation to the students. again having the opportunity for more creativity and flexibility at the school building level

with the clear and stated expectation of excellence and high achievement and the accountability said follow that it's an approach we have to have across the country. >> thank you for your leadership. come back to mobile. i yield back. >> thank you mr. byrne. spin madam secretary thank you for being here this morning joining us. the office for civil rights is to ensure equal education to promote excellence throughout the nation. civil rights data collection is charged with date -- collecting data on civil rights issues in all of our nation's public schools. despite having the agency discretion to do so the crc does not collect data in the

territories. .. it is promising to know it will soon be conducted. can you allow them to fully capture all of the nations schools? >> thanks, congressman for that

question. as you know the office of civil rights has completed the data collection on a regular basis and has done so at the direction of this body and of congress. we will continue to do so as we are directed. i think your question about collection of students in the northern area of us and other territories is a valid one. it is something i can and should and will go back to ask the staff to take a look at what is prohibiting it if anything. can i get your commitment that you will act in the other territories in the next collection.

i will take a look at it. >> wealth you commit to maintain the evidence and maintain the required permit debate co- requirement? >> we have no plans to change the data collection proceedings. >> since the data collections for all that includes the outlining areas that has been. so but we ask -- >> i know some of the

territories do. but not all of them, right not all of them have the institutions of higher learning. >> why don't you tell me. >> despite the systems and the northern ireland they produce high school graduate eager to pursue higher education. they have an accredited university or college and this leads to a four year degree or option to ensure significant personal cost in order to pursue a college degree so simply put, four year degrees are all too often less prohibitive for the students in the territories factoring in the federal student aid. how can the department support the graduates living in these

territories. >> we should include all students to pursue their future and the opportunities that they have, whether that be a four year degree or altitude of other pathways as we talked about earlier in the hearing. they are able to pursue careers and meaningful adult lives if we are committed to ensuring that they have those opportunities across the board. >> i would like to work with your office, your department. >> i would welcome that.

>> the first one if you are not ready that's okay, but i want to ask about the workforce innovation act and the rules that were promulgated under the obama administration and how that affects people with different abilities after each 25 and whether you have any plans to change the obama situation era which as i see it could be harmful in the different abilities in that they cannot be recommended or advised to to go to work centers and as i understand that it a lot of e that are sitting at home losing skills and social opportunity. are you familiar with the

situation? >> this is a matter of great interest and concern to me and it's one we are looking at closely. there are groups and individuals that have come from both sides of this issue and have strong arguments on both sides. we haven't reached any kind of conclusion. >> have you toured any of the centers i guess now they call them work centers pleased to call them children workshops, have you had in opportunity? >> i have not. >> as long as i've been involved in this i worry about people with different abilities, and i think that if you tw to some of

these the next time you are back in michigan, i would ask you to spend one or two hours at a couple of the work centers were used to be called children's workshops. look at people that work there as well as the employees that work there and think what happens if we take people out of the game between age 22 and 25. >> i would welcome the opportunity. >> now we are on to the next question. i would like to thank you for taking a stand trying to reduce the budget by $7.7 billion. i don't expect that th to know e answer but i want you to guess do you know how much the federal government is borrowing in the current year's budget

>> i heard this figure the other day, but i'm sure you know the current year's budget is 15%. >> over 20%, 22% and it's so easy to not care about the next generation so many people at all don't carof care of the next gen of the down the line. i thank you for being one of the few people hanging around who does care that their children an and grandchildren and appreciate you making a modest 10.8% cut. do you know how that is going over in the appropriation committee? >> i know many of the recommendations have not been adopted by the appropriators. but that doesn't mean we shouldn't attempt to do the right thing on behalf of

taxpayers and stay focused on the core mission. >> not only the taxpayers that our children and grandchildren. >> i have seven now. >> congratulations. that's wonderful and i'm glad you want to protect them as you find all sorts of elected officials are not as caring. but what you then say there's a disagreement between the administration and republican congress as to how much money we should be spending in the next year? >> i went encourage members to think in the broad term. >> the administration is looking out for the children and grandchildren it's about time that the committee got with the program. >> i think there are some lesson to be learned and we should be cognizant of the future and what the implications are for our kids and grandkids.

>> don't be afraid to set up an appointment to try to get them in shape. thanks so much. >> you are now recognized for five minutes. >> welcome to the committee. yesterday was the 20th anniversary of the high school shooting in oregon where a 15-year-old student told his parentkilled hisparents and walh school with guns under his trenchcoat, killed ten students and wounded 25. the community is still grieving. you said that the school safety recommendations will be out by year end. it's only a. students were telling me they walk into a classroom and the first thing they do is look for where to hide and escape. i want to join the ranking member calling for hearings and on the half of the students that are marching for their life will you please expedite the work of the commission? >> we are working to do the work of the commission and as i said

in my opening statement, i directed my department to do everything in the law to support the schools as requested under the bill that expands some of the funding and we encourage the schools to take advantage of that opportunity today. >> i hope we see meaningful recommendations sued. the states play an active role in predatory unfair and deceptive practices and over the last few years, they've recognized the need to take action regarding student loan services requiring them to be licensed and enforcing the protection. the department published in interpretation and restrict the ability of the states to protect the residents. in my opinion are they doing a good job and as someone that talks about a state the states s come isn't the interpretation inconsistent with your position on the states rights?

>> not all is a federal program and as such has federal oversight at ten did to that. we believe that it's important for us to be consistent. and if we had 50 different states with 50 different approaches to oversight, it would be a very confusing and convoluted process. as long as it is a federal program, we believe the federal level has the appropriate oversight responsibility. >> i would urge you to read the bipartisan letter that i would like to ask unanimous consent place in the record a letter that i wrote stating that you should please reconsider your decision for the state attorney general's, governors and state banking regulators agree they should protect their own residence. will you commit to sending a timely response to the letter?

congress recognizes the value of the student support and grants program and we funded a program at 1.1 billion for fiscal year 2018 and recently you stated the program is worth revisiting given that it supports the flexibility that it provides to the school districts. one of your responsibilities as a cabinet secretary is to advise the president but unfortunately the program has been zeroed out not once but twice in the proposed budget. will you commit that he will advocate for the program and its funding so he doesn't target it for elimination? >> we are advocating for a budget that builds in april thee flexibility to the state and local level and that the funding may be used in a broad range of activities and programs. i believe the state and local communities are best equipped to

make decisions about what is right for their students and under their purview so we will continue to advocate for that kind of flexibility at the state level. >> this is a program with bipartisan support and i encourage robust funding. following up on the question recently students in oregon were the leading force should read the bible at a public high school. is your office of civil rights investigating? >> is the complainif the complat to our attention we will certainly look at it and see if that falls under the purview of our office. >> finally, you submitted a story in your testimony about shirley and her daughter who was afraid of being beliefs of another try to earn money for private school. i was looking for the next page of your testimony where you say you went to that school and spoke with educators and administrators and family maybe they need a better anti-bullying programs, maybe the classes are

too crowded, maybe they need services for students in poverty. if your responsibilities to all students, why isn't that a part of the story? >> is a very touching story about shirley who's been working extra jobs in order to afford the right place for her child to go to school and i cited as an example of desire of all parents to have their child go and learn in an environment that works for them. >> i do encourage you to visit the school that you are talking about and find out why she was afraid because most of the students in this country attend public schools and we should be focusing as someone who has a responsibility for all students should be focusing not just on one student of the student tolds that attend that school to determine what we can do to help older students. thank you and i yield back. >> mr. lewisburg recognized for

five minutes. >> thank you for joining us at today's hearing. i also want to talk about the department's 2014 school discipline guidance and i commend my democratic colleagues for their passion on this issue impacts of our much of my work on this committee has been indeed focused on juvenile justice and reaching troubled kids early to help them get back on track, rooting out this commission, combating the pipeline goals i certainly have goals we should share in the in, for i also believe discretion must be important to the teachers and other leaders to build positive school cultures and 18th save productive classrooms and succeed in the educational mission. lowering expectations were turning a blind eye isn't doing any of the kids any favors. so under the guidance and

policy. do you think the government is equipped to set such a management and safety policy or are these decisions left better to the teachers and administrators than the needs of the schools in their communities? >> thanks for the question this is an important issue and one that i think we share the ultimate goal and that is that students are able to learn in an environment that is enhancing for all of them. this is an issue we are looking at closely and we need to ensure students are treated justly and fairly and it is not tolerable if a student of one color is disciplined more harshly than a student of another color for the

same infection. we know the data shows disparities, but the broad issue is the question of what is ultimately right for every student and protecting their rights so looking at it very closely and more on that later. >> as schools across the country look at this guy and this discipline guidance and decide how to remain compliant, but with a school have to do to ensure the policies wouldn't be found unlawful under the current guidance of the previous guidance i should say? having neutral policies may not be enough to ensure compliance, so the only defense it seems to me would be to get their numbers down or achieve some sort of a statistical disparity by any means necessary and that is a concern in consequence of the guidance and could lead to lower

expectations could it not? >> this gets to the heart of the issue and one that points to the fact that this is an important subject to be addressed so we are looking at and we will continue to share as they decide how to move forward on the existing guidance. >> are you engaged right now in the proper notice and rulemaking from local officials? >> we are taking input from a wide variety of individuals. >> and some of the comments so far? >> there is intensity on both sides of the issue, but i would say all the common goal in mind it's going to help students learn. >> it seems this pertains to school safety as well. anand commissions outand the coe foremost in everyone's mind.

thank you for coming today and i will yield back. >> thank you mr. lewis. >> thank you for your time this morning, secretary. secretary. secretary, i represent the state of california where the college's itt intec intact impld leaving students with massive debt and useless or unfinished degrees. many were student veterans whose names now their hard earned benefits. can't we read a passage of the forever g.i. bill that restored benefits to student veterans is a recognition by congress and that they defrauded or student veterans? >> we are continuing to move forward on the student claims that these institutions did defraud them and where it's been a demonstrated instance is hard

being forgiven accordingly. >> since you do read the passage of the bill as a recognition by congress over the students were defrauded by these institutions? >> i know there have been students that were defrauded and as i said earlier, it is not to be tolerated. >> do you agree the move was designed to protect students from this sort of fraud including those that also took out loans on top of their g.i. bill benefits? >> i know that there were those that the rule was put forward to protect students in general and veterans as a part of that. >> i appreciate your answer. the weekend the rule by changing the amount of relief a student

could receive in this hurts the student veterans as well as the other borrowers especially when come and under your rule someone working full-time a full time al minimum-wage earning only $15,000 a year could receive a partial release of the debt they incurred. i find this to be a direct contradiction with the passage of the bill that restored full g.i. benefits to the defrauded veterans. do you think a rule that gives minimum-wage workers have the money they were defrauded is doing a good job of protecting students? >> i think we have a responsibility and we are taking it seriously to ensure students that have been deprived of our recognized and believed accordingly and that there is a process for all of the claims that have been put forward. >> you are aware of the original

rule that you have revised would have given the full relief to the students in a low income as well as our student veterans? the original rule would have done that. >> i am aware of that. >> i want to move on to talk about the part where the payment card program. doctor johnson and fox all have previous ties to firms like mastercard, citibank and bank of america and are working on implementation of the pilot card program. do you agree that it would be a conflict of interest if these people were selecting the financial firm that would carry out the program tax >> i am confident in the team tasked with implementing the pilot program and that the appropriate delineation of duties are in place and we are going to advance.

>> that these particular individuals have close ties to the institutions if the word be that it could be involved that would be a conflict of interest. >> also was the work in the department of education take their ethical agreements very seriously and operate accordingly. >> have these people wreak used themselves of the decision-making process? >> as i said, all of the individuals in the department -- >> you are not going to respond to my question i will move on. will you commit to providing evidence of their refusal to this committee? >> as i said, i am confident -- >> i take your answer is no. can you testify that the pilot program will be implemented by the best connected firm but by the firm that would best serve the students? >> the pilot program will be implemented according to process and procedure set out within the federafederal student aid to enn

objective conclusion and award for the program. >> thank you madam secretary for your time today. >> ms. stephani, you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you for being here today. ie will have three questions i will go through fairly quickly. first is on the perkins loan program. congress decided not to expand this program despite widespread support from the members of the committee and majority of the house for a bipartisan bill i introduced with representatives. i've been hearing a lot of concerts from campuses in my district about the lack of clarity of the process for winding down this program. specifically college is over concerned over how the federal share of the revolving fund will be determined and equally important at what point in the process our schools would be required to serve in those

funds? can you speak to the process of winding down the program? >> thanks, congresswoman. we touched on this briefly, and i have more information about the fact in the wind down, our team is working closely with the institutions to ensure that they have clarity around the process and that students know what their alternatives are at the conclusion of the program. to be clear to those in the program as it exists will see their way through to the completion of the program and there will be other alternatives and opportunities for the students and institutions involved currently that we are working with to ensure they have that clarity. >> i want to continue to encourage the department to make the process as easy as possible for the higher education institutions to make up for the loss of the program. my second question is i want to reference in your opening

statement you discussed the need to offer students the option to receive a better education and the code of wealth shouldn't determine a families opportunity. i represent one of the largest districts on the east coast and one of the most rural districts. we do not have charter schools like your neighbors in new york city and i represent very few communities that even have a private or parochial school. so there are challenges that we face in the public school system is an incredibly important community center and base for educational systems. friday i visited the argyle central school, it is a small community in washington county and i had the opportunity to meet with an amazing art teachet teacher that has headed up the school system's art program for 40 years and i want to hear your ideas about the rural innovation. how can we take our best and brightest teachers and ensure

schools in the districts like mine have access to those increases into the additional courses. i would love to hear your ideas on rural innovation. >> i think sometimes when we think about these rural areas we think of choices in terms of added the structure and i'd lie to encourage those from these areas to think more broadly about how different choices can be introduced and i think that students perhaps this argyle school who may want to pursue and 80 p. course that doesn't have enough students to warrant a teacher or it's just impossible to offer. we know that there's probably a capable and highly qualified instructor that could teach the course for a student remotely or virtually and perhaps there's a small cadre of students within the school that learn differently than the other students. perhaps there could be a sub

charter schools but actually co- locates to meet the needs of the students to learn differently and while still maintaining the community feel of that particular building. i think we just have to be open to thinking more broadly and creatively about how different students needs and desires for study can be met and do it within the context of what works for the community. ..

those military families are served by the indian river school district in our community is reliant on it which is important for those military families and when i meet with the families they frequently talk about how the public school system are integrated with nonmilitary families. can you talk about the importance -- i'm concerned about some of the proposals that would upset the system we have in our country and new york so i would love to hear about why it's important to support him with the departments plans are in the funding. >> impact aid does have a great import for communities that have a lot of military connected families and the administration remains committed to ensuring that those funds and that support is there for those families. at the same time we know that

there are many military families who today say they are making decisions to continue in act of service and acted duty based on whether they are going to be able to be living in a place that they feel confident of them comfortable of the school and education options for their children. i think we have to think again more broadly about how can we ensure that we meet the needs of those families and give military connected families more choices in their children's education and at the same time respect the communities that these bases are located in. again and provide options for the families that need and want it and to ensure that the schools and the communities that are currently serving others continue. >> thank you that i will continue to support impact aid under the current model that

works in my district and we are an example of why it's so important. thank you france in the question i yield back. >> the gentlewoman's time has expired. you are recognized for 5 minutes. >> thank you madam chair and secretary devos thank you for being here padded madam secretary i along with ranking member scott and congressman burke from greensboro sent a letter dated may 8 commenting on how to administer additional funds appropriated to the agency in the capitol financing program in fiscal year 2018 for modification of loans. did he receive the letter? we have not received a response. >> i did. >> are you going to respond? >> yes. >> thank you. i'm sure that the fiscal year 18 included a provision appropriating 10 million for the hbcu capitol finance program for

schools in relation to their fiscal standing. i hope it will help these institutions struggling to make payment and a temporary relief. we have approximately 5 to seven hcb you's. in the fiscal year june 30 i think i speak for ranking member scott and congressman burke we enforce this because there is a pending emergency and we expected and hoped that the department would minister it immediately in a way that would benefit all of the institutions in distress. i'm hearing the department would not allow all the schools to qualify for the department to benefit. this suggested rationale bet capitol finance payments typically average around 2 million and the department is not promising to use loan

funding after fiscal year 18. my question is will you commit to administering the programs we can ensure that we don't have the hbcu closures. we have had some and we really do want to to have anymore and will you commit to working with us to ensure that any school that it's the criteria and applies it in time for deferment gets one? >> we are working on this carefully now and i commit that we are going to see the intention of this addition to the omnibus and see up there and are committed to supporting hcb use in their mission. >> thank you very much for saying that and i certainly hope that you will look at that as it relates to this dated june 30. it's extremely critical these schools offer so much to our institutions. let me follow up on the comments to you and the questions and i'm

curious about what is the rationale for the cards? >> i'm sorry. >> he talk to you about the student loan disperses -- disbursements and the cards. let me just move on and back up and ask you a question about the charlotte school because during this past year the charlotte school of law students did lose out. we did send that letter asking for support for those students and i don't believe that they really got the kind of support that they needed in terms of the payments in getting their money back and so forth. would you comment on that?

>> of the students had made application for forgiveness of their lawns they are certainly in process but if they have not made applications we can't obviously consider that. i assume that all of those students that sought relief have done so and it made application and we are working on and committed to considering each of them. >> that really has not been the case for a lot of these students and i hope as we move forward, the student's school was closed and they didn't have the opportunity to get their day in court that we need to make sure that all the students get the opportunity. i'm going to yield back right time. >> i would just like to ask and the purpose of measuring

subgroup performances. >> the purpose of measuring sub group performances to encourage challenge school districts to close achievement gaps for high expectations. >> if you are ranking schools and not including several performance. the summative rating was not part of the law so around the subgroup performance i think that it's a little conflation of law verses what the state chooses to do to help parents know and understand how their children's schools are doing. >> mr. rooney you are recognized. >> madam secretary thank you very much for your public service and for being with us here today.

shows the great leadership that you brought to the department. we have seen so many demonstrable positive results from parent choice all around the country and in places as diverse as washington d.c. in my state of florida. millions of children in florida florida -- and the tax credit program grew 26% had with the success is what can we do to expand parent choice all around the country? >> thank you congressman for that question and florida is a prime example of having done the hard work of reforming education meaningfully now almost 20 years ago and it was a multipronged approach really. it provided multiple options for choice. it empowered parents the choice choices for the attack scholarship program and a couple of programs that are focused on students with disabilities so

their parents can choose a better school or a different school than them. also take into account the parents need information when making decisions so it started grading schools. it said forward the requirement that students be able to read why the end of grade three at that level and retained them if they weren't able to knowing that going forward you learn to read in third grade and read to learn beyond that. also gave a lot more flexibility and autonomy to individual school buildings in leadership and it also set in place a merit pay system for teachers to award teachers who are doing an excellent job of educating their students. it was really a comprehensive approach and the result is borne

out of florida's focus on this broad approach of addressing what needed to be addressed. the latest results demonstrate that. florida zalmay stated in a nation where those performing at the bottom improved as well as those performing at the top. >> thank you madam secretary. a question about the prospect rated appears taxpayers are in $36 million in defaulted loans and prosper act would consolidate these didn't loan programs and the amount that students and parents can borrow. what can you do to avoid this massive default to the taxpayer's? >> this is clearly an issue that is going to need to be contended with in a much more cooperative way long-term. the student loan portfolio today

is $1.4 trillion and it keeps growing at the rate of over $100 billion a year. students need to be able to go an inch or their education beyond high school with eyes wide open about what it is they are getting into and what they are taking on. they need more information than they need to also have more information about the results of what they are pursuing. i think we can enhance all of those things and we have the need to do that. >> baguettes to my last question some who didn't go to college in the first place in did something different. we have 6 million unfilled jobs in this country that requires serious skills and the graduation rate for people in these programs is 93% verses the national average graduation rate. how can we direct more money and focus in a way to exploit these

trends and provide more cte studies and the university education? >> i think good start for that is for the senate to consider the rasterization of the persons act in the update of that act which this body has already done. we provide a lot more flexibility to states and local communities around how they meet these and encourage students in the multitude of pathways that should be available to them to pursue dual involvement opportunity starting in high school and really exposing students to some of the great opportunities as early as middle school giving them a taste of what they are like in introducing more earn and learn opportunities so students enter the workforce and prepare to do meaningful jobs and do so without death or little debt. those are things we have to continue to strengthen and enhance the opportunity for.

>> thank you for being here and for all you are doing for our country. >> madam secretary we were told we were going to vote around 12:10 or 12:20. with your indulgence i'd like to continue for a little longer. if there's a delay in the voting we will take a break but what i'm hoping is to use our time as wisely as possible so i'm going to recognize ms. rochester and hope that we will get some word about votes so again we can coincide outbreak with those if you are comfortable with that. >> thank you. >> congressman rochester you are recognized. >> welcome madam secretary. i'm going to start off with a question to follow up on ms. stefanik's question but do support mr. banks amendment that would turn the impact aid program into a voucher, yes or

no? >> i'm not going to answer yes or no. >> you can say yes or no or i don't know. >> i support options and choices but the vehicle of using an impact aid funding stream is not one that i support and that the administration supports. >> thank you but as you know the department of education through the rehabilitative services administration has an important role to play in the employment of people with disabilities. i just wanted where 5, i thought i heard you say earlier in your testimony have not reached a conclusion on competitive employment so i wanted to give you an opportunity to clarify did you say you have not reached a conclusion and if you have would you state for the record your intention of maintaining the definition of integrative employment upholding the statutory integrity? >> i have not yet reached a conclusion on that question.

say that thank you. my next question is the individuals with disabilities education act requires students to be educated as much as possible in the least restrictive environment. this means educator with their same age peers in the general education classrooms to the maximum extent possible could you believe students should be educated in the general education classrooms to be a maximum amount possible? >> yes i do. >> which you commit to the guidance of lre. >> we should expect as much as possible of every student. >> do you believe the segregation of students with disabilities is a civil rights issue and if so what is the obligation of your department to ensure we are following along providing equitable educational

opportunities for all students including students with disabilities? >> i am committed to enforcing the law as written. >> the last part of my question i would like to focus on significant disproportionality with rules and i think mr. lewis asked the question about the comment and based on a quick analysis of the act would be and i.d.e.a. regulation does proposed rulemaking that recently closed we understand more than 80 5% oppose the delay while less than 10% supported delay. will you commit for the record to maintain the timeline for the equity and i.d.e.a. regulation? >> i have not reached that conclusion yet. still under consideration. >> i guess one of the broader questions i have is can you be more specific about what you are doing to close the gap among

students with disabilities? >> this is advice that for, this is a matter that i take very seriously and we need to ensure that we get it right on the half of all students. we have the goal of treating students as individuals in ensuring they have the opportunity to pursue their education to the greatest extent possible. >> this is probably one of the areas i've seen in a report that came out of your shop. i saw a report that came out of a think it was the harvard law school aclu that said black students with disabilities lose about 77 more days of instructional time compared to their white peers with disabilities and i'm really concerned about upholding the protections for all students with disabilities and particularly students withrticuh disabilities of color and as we

look at misidentification and over discipline and what we really hope to hear from you and the department is a real vision and commitment and also accountability on protecting those students and with that i yield back the balance of my time. >> thank you ms. rochester. mr. banks you are recognized for 5 minutes. >> thank you madam chairwoman and thank you secretary devos for being here today. if we could elaborate on the subject that is come up a couple of times in the last 15 minutes about the military savings accounts for disparate difference between an education savings account and a voucher? >> thank you for that question. yes indeed there is quite a big difference. a voucher as you know and savings accounts are two different things in the funding is handled differently.

a voucher in the state indicates a state program an amount that goes to families to choose where a child goes to school and an education savings account is an account put in place for a family and a student from which a family can draw down for education services and support whether it's at one school or a multitude of different resources for their educational experience. >> is at the proper role of the federal government support military families by creating education savings accounts for those family specific way? >> i think it's a necessity that we look at ways we can support our military families and give them a lot more options. i personally think educational savings account is a great way forward for that to happen. >> can you provide us with more background on why are military families more than almost any

other family today might he -- . >> are military families sacrificed a lot in service to our country we know our military families make many many moves in the destruction for their children over the course of that career can be very painful. in some cases it can be good and i've talked to many children of military parents who say they are growing up with great experience but we need to be sensitive to military families needs. we have to i think support the fact that we have invested much into these individuals to help them become highly trained and capable and whatever role they have within the military and to lose individuals prematurely because they are not able to make education choices for their children that work for their children is just a travesty and it's something we have to

address. >> it's fair to say today that banks amendment aside it is the position of yourself in the administration that they would like to find an avenue that would create education savings accounts for military families? >> yes i do. >> and you are committed to working with myself and others we have over 70 co-sponsors by the way to understand the complications of using impact aid dollars although i disagree with my colleagues who done understand how minuscule yet be a substantial effect that i that can have on these families with military kids. and to clarify one thing you are committed to finding alternative solution. >> i look forward to doing so. >> i heard mr. rooney my colleague brag about the state of florida. it got to brag about the state of indiana for a moment. we are the largest voucher program in the country with more

than 90 charter schools. my state indiana has led the way when it comes to education reform and school choice. more than 30 5 thousand low income students are utilizing the indiana choice scholarship program to attend the school that best fits their needs another 80 5 hundred students have school color ships tax credits for the same purpose. these initiatives have been accompanied by record levels of achievement from the proficiency test in reading and science increase scores in math and as i've heard you talk about today a little bit and maybe could expand what more can this committee do to work with you so other states can follow indiana's lead and provide that type of progress for students? >> thanks congressman. in began as a leader and should be a model for states across the country to emulate. i think what this committee and frankly what this congress can

do is to continue to encourage an urge their state leadership to adopt programs like indiana has unlike florida has and to expand on them because even with the best programs in the best models they are still unmet demand. another thing that this body can do is to support from a federal level more choices without mandates and more choices and more flexibility from the federal level. >> my time has expired. >> thank you mr. banks. we do have a call to go and vote. we have three votes and will probably take us about 30 minutes. i asked that members return low -- no later than 5 minutes after the third vote so the weekend and in a timely fashion.

we have several who would still like to ask questions and we invite everyone to come back. we'll go through everyone who wants to ask a question. we thank you very much. the meeting will be suspended until 5 minutes after the third vote. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] spent the committee will come to order. thanks to everyone for coming back promptly. i now recognize -- for 5

minutes. >> thank you madam chair ranking member scott. secretary devos one of your senior advisers i believe this proper title is senior counselor to the secretary that he worked for a company called bridgeport indication a for-profit education service company. he took unpaid leave of absence from bridgeport from february 13 at 2017th to april 5, 2070 to work the department of education in effect during the two-month stretch of time he was employed by both bridge point in the department at the same time. two issues of concern to bridge point where the gainful employment rule and the borrower defense rule both of which protects students. i like to talk about the gainful employment or ge rule for a moment preview must be aware

that because of the prior employment with rich point and to avoid any conflict of interest he told congress that he had recused himself from all matters related to the gainful employment rule. i happen to have two documents of interest with me secretary. first a record of the may 17, 2017 call on his calendar entitled call with the executive office of the president on rulemaking. that was from 4:32 5 30:00 p.m. that day but ever record of june 13, 2017 e-mails sent to administration officials attaching a quote unquote draft backgrounder and instruction within the e-mail to remove the ge insert when sending it to others. secretary devos given

mr. itell's statement about recusing himself from the gainful employment rule and these documents which i just showed in my hands which contradict his testimony are you as concerned as i am that he was not completely candid with congress? >> congressman thank you for that question. all of my team is very responsible to and responsive to the requirements and expectations of their ethics agreements and i am very confident of their following those appropriately and according to all of the rules set forth therein. ..

>> the conflict has continued to take the expectations and requirements seriously. i have every confidence of that. >> you have every confidence that he is taken his particular promise not to involve himself in ge matters, despite the fact that he involved himself in ge matters, set correct? >> all my team takes the request and requirements regarding this seriously. >> thank you. i want to turn to diane jones, the official responsible for making the recommendation that determines whether a cics is reinstated as a legitimate creditor. the remind you that a cics

accredited itt tech and corinthian, two of most fraudulent institutions in recent history. are you aware that mr. jones was the president for american liberal education pgh so, where the court has ordered us -- senses in the middle of consideration and litigation i cannot discuss the matter further. >> are you aware that aal e lost its recognition by the accrediting agency despite mr. jones opposition? >> i am. >> are you aware of the prior role with the aal e was not disclosed in the financial disclosure paperwork? >> again, i've stated before and again that all my team takes the

responsibility seriously of the ethics agreement seriously. they continue to operate within them. i'm confident of that. >> i'm just asking a yes or no question. are you aware that it was not disclosed in the financial paperwork. >> i refer again that my team takes responsibility seriously. they're all adults and bound by the ethics agreement. >> given what we've discussed today could you please define the term conflict of interest as you understand it. >> all of our team understands if they have a perceived or real conflict in all of their agreements reflect that, they take this responsibility seriously will continue to do so. >> thank you.

>> mr. ferguson, you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you madame chairwoman. secretary thank you for being here today. there are many innovative local models across the country to improve school safety. from what i have seen local communities need unique needs of their students in a given area and i am pleased to see the flexibility and funding particularly in titles two and four. one program in my district they work through threat assessment and intervention teams and address the threats that could lead in effect to student safety. as the is the chair are you looking at local models like the one at columbus state university to look at what meets the needs

of the students. >> we look at models across the country. the specific program your reference we would encourage them to submit materials. we have to address at safety.gov and will make a note of it because we like to seek out some of these innovative and proven solutions. >> the behavioral assessment recommendation team is a great model. we encourage you to look at that and include that in consideration in your report. moving on, we have heard from students, recent graduates, institutions of higher learning that really want to focus on simple ways for student loans to be repaid. taken this maze of complex

repayment models and getting them to a single program like we have, can you expand on why the department believes it's important to change the way they help repay the loans. >> i commend this committee and the chairwoman for the steps that have been taken to the passage of this committee to the prospect that seeks to simplify the ability of students to pay off their loans. it has become a confusing navigation. i've talked to a number of students who are highly educated yet have a problem figuring out what is owed where and to whom. i hope this provision continues to gain steam. we need students to reliably and pay off their loans.

>> according to the annual report, the percentage of student borrowers in default or other distressed status is a little over 13% to about 15% now. the volume alone in default has grown to about $36 billion. that's a high number. with millions of borrowers needing help i'm concerned the department is in planning for the current or future needs of the borrowers. can you talk about which performance metrics you're using? how is your team working to ensure the contractors have the resources they need to meet the demands.

>> this is important going forward. part of the plan to modernize student aid in the experience, the states that we are moving toward is going to provide students more information up front. it will ultimately give them tools to be able and suggested that they begin addressing and paying off their loans quickly and at a time when they're at a low level. it will continue to engage with them at an earlier stage. today's students are in default much too long. i will contend that were moving toward a much more consistent and regular engagement on a world-class experience for students. >> if i can encourage you to

work with staff here to make sure that's issue in the department is committing this back to the staff. >> thank you mr. ferguson. >> thank you for being here. i want to ask him questions and hope you can reconcile what seemed to be contradictions. when i'm in my district i make an effort to get out to the districts and spend a lot of time talking to employers asking what they need, and the bay area we have challenges but also providing a workforce that tech companies need. one thing i hear is getting the best and brightest to go into

teaching. i see that both public and private. in response to the question you said education, training and preparing great teachers it's critical work. all students including special-education students deserve effective teachers to help them achieve and succeed. the contradiction is that you eliminated a program that's meant to do this. you recommended eliminating that. could you reconcile those differences. >> the budget requires difficult decisions run a broader goal. the programs we recommended for lesser funding or increase funding to sit with the goal in mind of allowing resources to be

the most flexible. resources that are in the budget are able to be used to help teachers be better at what they do. >> sorry to interrupt. i apologize for being somewhat implied. in a speech on may 16 you referred to language that prohibit public funds from going to religious institutions is bigoted. what did you mean? >> i assume you're referring to the blamed amendment. that was advanced at a time when there is a big group of anti- catholics going after an attacking catholic education. think we have seen that continued enforcement of these provisions. i believe it continues to be an

impediment to families ability to pursue education as desire. >> as someone who has had both public and a catholic education and his children had both come i appreciate that. one thing the catholic institution has been reconciled those differences mostly. in an instance where lighthouse christian academy in indiana accepts taxpayer funds the school policy states it can expeller deny missions to lgbt students. would you describe that is bigoted? >> the school to which you refer is involved in a state program. as such states that the parameters run the programs in that particular school is subject to indiana law.

>> that's convenient. i once read a few quotes from our editorial from the detroit free press. i do this in context of someone who doesn't object to charter schools. i have supported charter schoo schools. given the twenty-year record of much that you have been the architect for detroit, there seems to be contradiction. let me read some of the quote. in detroit, parents of school-aged children have choices thanks to the largest urban network of charter schools. what remains is a short supply of quality. for 20 years they propped up billion-dollar charter school industry and insulated them from common sense oversight even if they repeatedly failed to

deliver. so california right now there's millions of dollars coming in. there was a time in california when reformers could engage in a discussion disagree. having accountability strikes me as the most republican of all virtues. >> first of all, detroit is not my hometown. from grand rapids michigan. >> i apologize,. >> secondly, the contention that charter schools are not doing their job others not accountability around men, there are a lot of accountabilities run them. there have been charter schools closed for variety of reasons. not the least of which is performance. many parents are choosing charter schools for the children

because it's the better option for them. in studies, more than one study has shown students in charter schools gain on average three to four months of additional learning. as opposed to those in the traditional public school. i advocate for giving more options. i know when parents have that power and opportunity to make choices for their children that will benefit their own children. >> thank you madam chair. >> thank you for being here. it's good to see you. want to continue with charter schools. sometimes there's questions and comments made that charter schools figure out how to do things better and help students learn in a productive way.

and whether those best practices ever move into a public environment. can you talk about that and examples of where that's happened. >> charter school started out with the goal of having innovative approaches. we have seen many developed different ways of educating kids around themes or approaches to education. yet, to a lesser extent we've seen some of those successes adopted within the traditional system. i would urge and encourage that the system look at the opportunities to make changes necessary for kids. too many cases we have a one-size-fits-all approach. we know it doesn't work for many kids. i hope and urge the traditional schools to look at changes they need to make to continue to get

better for the students are serving. >> my school we have one that's a charter school district across the board. you mentioned dual enrollment. we've talked about it before, there is a pilot project going on in the department of education that would help ensure low income high school students have access to dual enrollment programs. we recognize not every student comes from a robust environment. this would allow pell grants and 40 plus different schools. how is that going and what are you seeing? is it working or not. >> we don't yet have the results, was just implemented the 2016 school year.

the analysis is underway. i trust it will show good and promise results. with the encouragement that more schools adopt this so students can in college-level classes on accreditation while they're in high school. >> i encourage you to continue on that track assertively and aggressively. it's important for young people to graduate prepared for whatever is next. so being able to have a work opportunity and earn and learn opportunity gave me a leg up. i look forward to staying in touch with you on that initiative. >> thank you. i yield back.

>> thank you for coming today. we look forward to seeing you. i heard you say the school shooting shock two. it didn't shock me. is such a common occurrence now. i would ask, would you consider coming to this committee and having a hearing to talk about how we can control school violence and keeper school safer? >> i'm heading up of federal commission on school safety. we have commenced our work i look forward to both an interim report that will help provide information that schools and districts can implement. >> i would consider it. >> i will take that as a hopeful. >> i also want to talk to about what david brought up with

for-profit schools. you said that you would consider a wide range of appropriate information students need to have a wide range of information. does it show pop up say that there's been this many complaints against the school? or a package of cigarettes that the school might be toxic free. what did you mean when you set a wide range of appropriate information. what will your department to to make sure they have the tools? >> i always supported information transparency. >> i'm sorry to rush you but i only have five minutes. how would you get it in their hands? these kids are 18 - 23. would you put it publicly on the

site so they can see if they google their name they're looking at. >> i don't think there's a one-size-fits-all answer or one solution. it's a multipronged effort. schools leaking information around the results is a good and important piece. as part of this financial servicing arrangement an agreement through federal student aid we can and will be providing students with more material and information. they make their decisions of taking on student to. >> will you compel students choose that information? >> will follow the laws is the spotting congress enacts. we don't make applause. >> you do have authority to do more.

i want to talk to you about the two tracks school. >> the to track? >> year creating a two track system. for the record my children went to catholic school but i never expected i would get a tax break. it was a choice i made. i fully expected to give to the public system otherwise you create this where you don't have enough funds for the public tract. as the public schools that create the sense of a public. in the blogging to our society and teaching. i'm concerned about that but also about this, i've heard some schools -- if we did allow vouchers for various religions

and no religion, is that okay if they'll pledged to a different flag? >> i think it's good and laudable that you could send your children to catholic school. my advocacy is for parents who didn't have the resources that you and i have had. >> i was part of a large family. we had no resources. and i worked my way through college but we went to catholic school. >> i'm advocating for parents to have those decisions and choices. >> you would be taking from the public school which is the whole point. >> the resources committed to the child would follow that child to the school of choice.

>> you recognize for five minutes. >> thank you for your leadership. i appreciate the work you have done to ensure every child has the opportunity for world-class education. that they deserve. as chair of this committee in pennsylvania and your example of a mother, your written testimony from philadelphia ring true with me. i've been on the phone with parents and school districts throughout pennsylvania, specifically philadelphia who are part of lottery systems to gain entry into school and maybe have spent thousands for just a

few spots. this is life-changing for those who were able to get into the school of their choice. wasn't always charter schools. we get hung up in the debate about charter schools. in pennsylvania 86% of students attend a public school. we need to ensure that every school or kids choose to attend is delivering and preparing them for life after school. philadelphia has some great schools that are district schools. they have other great schools that are charter schools. we know it takes leadership and teachers to make a difference. one issue i have is that the adults, the policymakers weather at the school district or local

level too often they stand aside and accept schools that aren't delivering. sometimes his generation of students that are trapped in a failing school because of the zip code there were born into. thank you for your leadership. i appreciate the work you're doing. my question is about civil service reform. this is related to a bill that's been introduced. just as it is important to ensure we have great performing schools want to make sure federal employees are performing as well and have the employees they need. last year my colleagues in the house and senate passed legislation that gave the secretary of the virginia the

power to reduce bureaucracy and ensure that their meeting the standards that are deserved. they give them authority for federal workers and ensures a streamlined process in place to remove employees that are undermining the public trust. this was supported in a bipartisan way. president trump call for these reforms across government agencies during the state of the union address. we have legislation to extend the reforms. i would like your reaction. to feel that having more authority to manage the performance among employees not living up to the standards will help you better accomplish your

goal of improving outcomes? >> this is an important issue governmentwide. there are opportunities to do better on behalf of the taxpayers and on behalf of those being served to the agencies. i could cite examples where we have been hamstrung because of an inefficient process. there is been prescription handed down long how we need to organize things and how things need to function. some of it doesn't make sense. i think it relates to an opportunity to do better on behalf of the taxpayers.

>> my staff has been in touch with individuals from the department. wondering if you could take a look at the legislation and provide your feedback,. >> i would welcome the. >> thank you. >> thank you madame secretary, thank you for your patience. i want to make a statement and remind that i think making students pay more to borrow more and pay more during repayment. the changes would only worsen the country's fault rate. on another issue, much has been said around the country about sanctuary cities. some people believe that

municipalities harbor violent criminals. others believe sanctuary cities provide a safety net. so mother can take her child to school without the fear that the principal or teacher may call ice on her and her family. we've gotten reports of an l.a. father and detained by ice, we have another one of father detained after dropping a 4-year-old that a daycare center. a student in boston who engaged in nine violent altercation with another student. that information was shared with authorities and that led to his arrest. to support the administration section that parents should be

arrested outside of school when they wait for the children because of their status when they pick up their child? >> we are both a nation of laws and compassionate people. it's important. >> it's. >> it's important that we follow the laws of the land. >> but i asked a question with the yes or no answer. >> we are nation of laws in a compassionate. >> that's not a yes or no answer. i would appreciate a yes or no. >> as i said, we are compassionate people. we know where nation of laws. we need to respect and honor both. i urge this body in congress to do its job and address where there is deficiencies in the low. >> let me remind this committee that i don't think this was a

direct answer. there are many undocumented children attending schools right now. all over the country. do you feel that government should fund the education of these children? >> of course we do because it's a supreme court decision for many years ago. there are undocumented children in k-12 education today that we support and give education to on a daily basis. >> let me look at a previous question. inside the school if a principal or teacher finds out a certain child is undocumented or his or her family members are undocumented, to feel that principle are teachers responsible is responsible to call ice and have the family

reported? >> i think that is a school decision, local community decision. refer to the fact that we have laws and are compassionate. irish this body to do its job and address and clarify where there is confusion. >> you basically said the rules and guidelines for education is what the department does across the country. do you support a teacher's ability or the boston case in january 21 of 2018, young person engaged in a nonviolent altercation meaning there's no violence involved with another student. that information was shared with authorities leading to the arrest and deportation of young person.

do prescribe to that? >> these are state and local issues to be addressed and dealt with. i refer back to my previous answers. >> immigration law is federal law. it is not local law. stuck over by municipality. it happens here in washington and is countrywide. cannot have immigration law for one state be different for another state. it applies to everyone across the country. >> thank you secretary. we appreciate your time and your willingness to work with us. we had an opportunity to talk on the phone earl earlier. one thing we talked about is

technical colleges have consolidated forces. when orders the dairy capital world and wondering how we have enough individuals educated for careers in aircraft and aerospace industry. they have worked to pull together great program to go through the process and educate them to be airplane and powerplant mechanics and moving forward with an industry that affects my district and a large part of the programs in the area trying to address shortages of skilled manufacturing individuals. whether hvac or other things. i don't know if there are other things within the department that you're looking at districts

having stuff going on that could help in those areas. >> thank you congressman. thank you for your support effort to provide students multiple opportunities for the career. the aviation industry is an important one for our country. just visited southern new hampshire university last week. they introduced a major aerospace related program recognizing the opportunities. we need to ensure we raise up the profile of the programs. i take that seriously. to help highlight the areas that these cooperative efforts are working in a meaningful way. i urge and encourage local communities and regions to reach out and involve business and

industry in the community and addressing what needs to be changed and be done differently to afford students the opportunity to pursue multiple pathways to their futures. there is great opportunity. nobody has sway to the federal mandate comes down. we want to encourage local communities to address the things they have. where pediments stand in the way we need to remove them wherever possible. >> that's a -- the government still needs to stay at the local level of engagement. i extended an invitation if you want to come out of visit and look at the things we have going

on that are innovative and novel. >> thank you, i welcome the. >> i yield the back. >> thank you. you do have a great story to tell. >> welcome madame secretary. the expansion of school choice programs, will which is one of your department stop priorities transfer needed funding from our nation's public skiles to private school choice programs leaving are most challenge students underfunded. you are every segregating our nation's schools. are you aware that you are re- segregating our nation's schools? that's the first question. i have a series of questions. please describe the evidence where vouchers are affected.

not just that parents prefer them or makes people happy. was the peer-reviewed or quasiexperimental evidence you're using to advance your policy? >> thank you congresswoman. first of all, i think the focus on giving parents choices we should stress the fact that these are choices parents make to try to get there child into a school environment that will work better for them than the school that their signed. >> your basis and what makes people happy? instead of experimental evidence you're using to advance your policy? >> it's a multitude of things. what makes people happy,

satisfied and encouraged and committed to their child's education is one element. >> all we have gone from vouchers or dismal results especially florida and indiana. a study in 2015 showed that in mathematics, students who transferred to private schools with vouchers had significant -- and achievement and no improvements in reading. i question what evidence you have that these programs are successful. can you provide a journal in which literature has been provided? what type of methodology are you using? these are critical questions a we need answers so we can answer our parents. >> there have been studies done that demonstrate effectiveness of programs of choice. >> vouchers. >> there different mechanisms of choice.

vouchers one mechanism. tax credits, scholarships, education savings accounts are all mechanisms. their studies that demonstrate the outcome of students in the achievement level are better than when they are in their signed school. >> you provide us the name of the journal that these studies were published in? so that the committee will know how to follow up? >> i'm happy to reference a few studies. the urban institute had an in-depth study of florida contradicts what you contended earlier in credo has published a study in that it underscores the effectiveness of these programs. in addition to the fact that the parents made the selection i very pleased within satisfied.

>> are these high-quality research. >> they are considered gold standard. >> can you commit in your fy 20 budget to maintain increased funding to public schools? without proposing your private school choice game instead it shifted the other way? >> our budget proposal continues to request funding levels for students who are most vulnerable levels as previously. >> increase public schools increase funding, can you commit to that in your budget? >> we put forward a budget request that maintains or some line items increases overall. the overall budget is actually

request is reduced on that is in line with the larger budget go goal. >> you say that you do all that you can to increase funding of public education. >> i'm committed to supporting education. >> public education. >> man, i'm trying to be respectful. >> not all education, i'm just asking about public education. >> and i am committed to continuing to support education for all students. acknowledging that 90% of our students today attend traditional public schools. i will continue to urge that all schools no matter how well they are performing for students continue to get better on behalf of the students they serve. >> the gentlemen's time is

expired. mr. thompson you recognize for five minutes. >> i'm not here to ask you to discriminate against kids are pathways of learning. we have tremendous opportunities with learning pathways in this country. i appreciate your leadership and your commitment to the kids. and to the future of our country. education is key. this is not something i saw the last administration but to have that education on all learners. your support for all avenues of education. we had many conversations never say thank you we have lots of questions on that.

so thank you to your commitment. i meet with adult students, post secondary that are enrolled in education programs. there within a short time weather six months, one year in reach of a family sustaining good job. six i have million of those jobs open and available today. many have a prior bachelor degrees, sometimes masters degree. there is a degree that provided no economic value. many from public institutions. it provided a world of debt. that's the definition of economic harm. from the last senses it averaged

18 to 24-year-old earned an average of $26100 annually. as for the four year degree. the average debt was $29400. i appreciate that you promote are for your schools and institutions. there pathways to success. people need to make good decisions to study and pursue. they need to have a good financial literacy when making those decisions. but everything you know about you i think we share that commitment. how well have we been doing that promoting all educational pathways to success? >> thank you for your commitment

to multiple pathways. we have opportunity to continue to improve on her support for the reality of multiple pathways. for more than a couple of decades we sent the message that the only way to success in adulthood is through a four-year college i think is ill-advised. we would do well to help students get exposed to multiple opportunities at a young age. middle school is when we should introduce students to a wide friday of opportunities. we should introduce more earned and learn opportunities to the high school years. and really encouraging

innovation and collaboration at the community level of what the opportunities are what is needed is something we need to have more support to. from a federal perspective to make sure that we have built-in flexibilities. >> this is very technical. if you could check on this, within the every student succeeds a a required the director of education to complete a study on a four part a of title i formula to make sure that there -- i want obviously a part of this was a member of congress, but also to

the public. looking forward to the outcomes. >> we have checked on it and don't have results the study is new. as soon as we have results to share their shared broadly. >> mr. allen you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you. appreciate you being here and i enjoyed meeting you couple weeks ago to talk about some of the things we're going to talk about earlier. today's our primary day back home. size voting early. this is probably been mentioned, were spending money on education in this country. 7.6% of gdp which is much higher

than any other nation. were sitting here and have a growing economy and six i have million jobs. were creating jobs at a rapid rate. everywhere i go people can grow their businesses. we don't have the available workforce. this is putting pressure on the educators and we have paths on legislation and of course the higher education that we have worked on as well. in your mind, how do you see obviously the federal budget is one thing, how do you see that

funding best use to get us out of this trap that were in. we know we have folks that are trapped in poverty that we with the for the ability of upward movement in the job world. what are here initiatives right now as far as that's concerned? >> we share the goal of encouraging every young person to seize an opportunity for an earlier future. we best accomplish or help support that from a federal level by ensuring the financial resources are distributed with as few strings attached as possible with accountabilities and expectations both latitude

on how they're deployed. when a more innovation and creativity with how to meet the specific needs of states and regions. we know their unique needs and your community. we need to respect and acknowledge and encourage those to grow up in ways that will best address the needs of the community and challenge the students pursuant to that. >> the president is working on those burdensome regulations. can you update on the progress of the task force? >> we have undertaken the review of the regulations within department the department. today we rescinded over 600

letters and guidance that are outdated or rendered meaningless. we continue that review and are committed to cleaning house to the extent possible. >> i want you down to our district. we have a school that i call the miracle school. it's taking children who are labeled as losers in the public education system and through this is not for everybody, but it's working in teaching good principles. these kids are becoming stars. it's an amazing transformation. that's what had me involved in education.

one is seeing that transformation of the second thing is when i realized the big disconnect between the business community and i'm calling out my friends to say let's get involved. i hope we're getting there. >> i to urge business and educators to break down the silos that have long been constructed. >> again, i want to thank the secretary for taking time to testify before the committee today. i recognize congressman smart. >> i want to -- we had questions

on the education and guidance of 2014. i remind you that those in question propose no requirement on school districts. in fact the school superintendent recently reversed its -- regardless of any act by the department and rescind the guidance the civil rights act remains the law of the land. section six oh one says no person shall on the ground of race, color, or or origin be denied that the benefits of a be subjected to any programs receiving financial assistance. it doesn't say intentional

discrimination, it just says discrimination. president kennedy said those not be spent in any fashion or results in racial discrimination. direct discrimination by the local governments is prohibited by the constitution. indirect discrimination is just as insidious. it should not be necessary. contrary to the rhetoric is not something new in 2014. this will do nothing more than send the signal that school districts in the trump administration does not value civil rights racial discrimination is okay as long

as it's for school safety. states are of fact required to have a system of those that send us into subgroup performance. the language from the code says that the states must establish a system of meaningful differentiation on an annual basis of all public schools in the state which shall be based on all indicators of this date system and for all students in each subgroup. while some states use the ratings others to not regardless the lark clearly requires the

differentiation is ranking of schools including subgroup performance. in my objection is that state plans were approved that include subgroup performance. what people have to fill out statutory language but these have received approval notwithstanding the fact that they did not have several performance. those support plans to make necessary changes to make necessary and come into compliance. we requested multiple times to hold dialogue meetings concerning implementation even

with approved labors and i hope the department will respond to those requests so the information can be exchanged. there are important questions that we weren't able to discuss. we talked about school safety, civil rights enforcement though we didn't have enough to go into early learning, religious liberty we would have liked to go into more detail but the five-minute time limitation doesn't allow it. every day, more than 50 million children are in public schools along with dedicated teachers and staff.

their agencies throughout the nation have a responsibility to ensure students have resources and tools in to receive a high quality, accessible inequitable education regardless of where they live or how much the parents earn. we been moving further away from this vision set up by the supreme court 50 years ago upholding silver rights of all students and protecting students from fraudulent for-profit education companies. . .

that consumed the department in the years past. my colleague mr. scott and i sent a letter to appropriators requesting funding for the grant to help schools access to flexible funding they need. they will join us in helping local communities address this critical and urgent issue. i also appreciate your commitment to implementing its

judgment. i would be remiss if i didn't mention responding to the letters. i understand experienced an unprecedented volume of letters and it will take time to respond to them. i encourage you to make these responses a priority. finally i appreciate your commitment to helping us modernize the higher education system. the time for reform is passed. one needs to support the act. i would note that on the prosper act they are still struggling to come to terms with the fact that

we've produced a bill that saves both the taxpayer and the student a significant money. we thank you for your commitment in the higher education reform. we look forward to continuing work with you to put students and taxpayers first in everything we do. there's sufficient time for all members to have four or five minutes per question. being no further business, the committee stands adjourned.

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