Speech #970225573

Mr. President. this amendment is in keeping with the directives of the Supreme Court that the additional costs of admitting these children to public schools might fairly be shared by the Federal and State Governments. The Texas Education Agency estimates that there will be 25.000 illegal alien students enrolled in Texas schools in the upcoming school year. at a cost of $62.5 million to the State. The amendment provides Federal assistance for fiscal years 1984. 1985. and 1988. up to $68 million to those districts most affected. Each district with a level of enrollment of undocumented aliens comprising 500 or 5 percent of the total would be entitled to an amount up to $1.000 per child for costs associated with education. Such expenses could include both construction and operating costs. Texas will educate these children willingly. but it would be unconscionable if the Federal Government were to shirk its responsibility for a situation It has created through allowing unregulated and underregulated flows of immigrants entrance to this country. The mere numbers of undocumented alien children in this State and the fact that other States have been able to educate their alien population with minimal adverse consequences do not tell the full story. Cultural and linguistic barriers augment to a significant degree the normal costs associated with standard State educational programs. While these additional costs would present a problem for wealthy school districts. the majority of illegal alien students are enrolled in our poorest districts. such as Brownsville. where the market value of property utilized to determine a taxable base for support of public education is typically below the statewide mean. Especially in these heavily affected districts. Federal assistance is essential in order to maintain a standard of quality education for all children.