Speech #900096133

In addition. these students generally have a lower comprehension. They have been transferred from one school system to another where techniques of teaching may differ greatly. and because of their migrancy these children often receive no formal education for extended periods of time. The resulting lower comprehension compounds the problems of teaching. and often regular students are held back as teachers try to incorporate these migrant children into their classes. Too many citizens think the problem of migrancy only affects the migrants. Yet if these people only realize that an impacted school situation adversely affects the quality of education their own children receive. more interest and concern for this problem would be generated. On the other hand. many people are aware of the problem. but do not want to spend the additional money required to alleviate the situation. Yet without Federal aid. the responsibility of educating these children rests entirely on the local citizens. This is an unjust burden. The greatest majority of people however. do not want to budget a sufficient amount of money for migrant education because of the previous failures of Federal spending in this field. One teacher in my district wrote an objective analysis of a reading clinic in her city funded by Federal money last year. The equipment was expensive. the carpeted room luxurious. and the problems twofold. This particular program failed because of the lack of adequately trained. qualified administrators. They did not plan studies that could be integrated into the tight bus schedule. nor did they give each student a fair opportunity to use the equipment. But more importantly. this program represents a major flaw in the whole Federal system of aid to schools impacted with migrant children. Categorical grants are virtually useless. In one city a child may receive special attention or be put in a special Federal program such as the reading clinic. but 3 or 4 months later when his family moves. he may be placed in a school with no special programs or tutoring for children in his situation. Any advancement that was made in the previous program. is totally lost because of the lack of a followup course in the neighboring school. The problem of educating migrant children is. therefore. multifaceted. Just getting local citizens to recognize the affect of an impacted school situation upon the quality of education their own children receive Is a major step in this battle. The need for Federal funds is obvious. Local citizens should not be held entirely responsible for the education of migrant children. Federal aid is needed and on a much broader scale than the present one. Aid should not be given periodically and only for special projects. Rather. Federal funds should be given to all schools impacted with migrant children. and the amount determined by the number of such children in each school district. I have introduced H.R. 1337. which specifically allocates Federal funds in this manner. Only then will any meaningful. uniform education system be established. In this way. teachers will not be left in a quandary as to what to do with migrant children. the education of the local children will not be disturbed or the quality degraded. and the local citizens will not be held financially responsible for a situation that is essentially interstate in character. Therefore. I urge your careful and immediate consideration of H.R. 1337.