popular vote at a special election, with the majority of the votes cast in the affected area determining its acceptance or rejection. Local control on a democratic basis is assured and strengthened through the requirement that school reorganizations may be put into effect only with the approval of at least a majority of voters in the affected areas. POLICIES Policy items are those which have received approval for PTA action, but are areas in which less activity is anticipated in 1959. 1. Removal of the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction from the ballot. 2. The kindergarten of approved standards should be an integral part of the public school system. 3. Safety education; strengthening and enforcement of safety laws. 4. Strengthening and enforcement of school attendance and child labor laws. 5. Coordination of public and voluntary youth services in health, education, recreation, and welfare departments of State agencies. 6. State assistance for strengthening and extending school and public library services. 7. State assistance for establishment of effective local public health services. TO UNIT AND COUNCIL LEGISLATION CHAIRMEN (By Mrs. Graydon Heuman, acting legislative chairman) On the preceding pages is the proposed legislation program of the Indiana Congress of Parents and Teachers, Inc., for 1958-59. This program is presented for local unit voting (see bylaws, Indiana Congress of Parents and Teachers, Inc., article XVII) by January 15, of the even-numbered years and will include the official legislation ballot. A vote on the legislation principles, action items and policy items is requested of local Congress units within the 10 weeks following the January mailing. Acceptance of the legislation program by majority vote of the local Congress units voting within a 10-week period shall constitute ratification of the State program on legislation and will become the items for active support by the Indiana Congress of Parents and Teachers, Inc. The president of each Congress unit shall submit on an official form the vote of the local unit to the State board of managers. During this 10-week period may we suggest you present the program to your membership, remembering it is not our place or prerogative to tell members how to react to legislation. That is their own privilege, but as a PTA it is our responsibility to inform our membership. We very carefully stress to you that both sides of the proposed program be discussed and presented to your membership. Presentation may be made in various ways. The study group offers an excellent channel for discussion. Suggestions are as follows: Films: "Not by Chance," "What Greater Gift," and "A Desk for Billie," available upon request from Indiana Teachers Association, Sheraton-Lincoln Hotel, Indianapolis 9. "The Legislative Process," available from the Audio-Visual Center, Indiana University, Bloomington, $8 in color; $5 in black and white. Your city or county film rental library may be able to provide it free of charge. Buzz groups: Each group taking a point of the program and bring their findings to the groups as a whole. Panel presentation: Participants-school superintendent or administrator, teacher, parent, school board member, librarian, health officer, doctor, nurse, Senator, Representative or principal. Be sure to allow for questions following the presentation. For further types of presentation. "New Hopes for Audiences," is available at the State office 40 cents. A packet will be mailed to your president. Please do not let the line of communication end here. Give it to your legislation chairman-this is important. "Trends in School-District Reorganization," order from Indiana University, Bloomington; cost, $1. "Here's Your Indiana Government," order from Indiana State Chamber of Commerce, second floor, Board of Trade Building, Indianapolis 4; cost $1. "Case for Indiana School Reorganization," same address as above; cost 50 cents. "The Minimum Foundation Program," write to the Indiana State Teachers Association, for the February and April 1957 issues of the Indiana Teacher. "Handbook on Teacher Education," order from the Teacher Training and Licensing Division, State House, Indianapolis; cost $1. "What PTA Members Should Know About Juvenile Delinquency." Order from State Office; 50 cents. "How Can PTA Promote Better Rural Library Service?" Write the Director of the Indiana State Library, Indianapolis. As you study the State legislation program, do you not have related local issues? Do you have libraries, health units, community councils, kindergartens, laws protecting minors, safety laws, adequate recreational facilities, proper juvenile detention homes, adequate housing? Do you have a board of education? You may find that something needs to be done and you will want to proceed with a community survey to overcome the problems. It is only when the community is alert to needs that changes will come about. Abraham Lincoln said, "With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it, nothing can succeed.” Your legislation program, your voice speaking for children when often no other voice speaks is the concerted voice of Indiana. Your child's future lies in your hands. Will you stand tall and help to have better legislation for Indiana's children through your efforts? LEGISLATION PROGRAM COMMITTEE Mrs. Graydon Heuman, chairman George B. Craig, Griffith Mrs. R. D. Ferguson, Richmond Mrs. Howard S. Williams, Jr., Remley Herr, Crawfordsville Mr. BAILEY. The next witness will be Mrs. Fred Bull, National Congress of Parents and Teachers. Mrs. Bull, you may identify yourself for the reporter if you need any additional identification. Let us have your views. STATEMENT OF MRS. FRED L. BULL, CHAIRMAN OF LEGISLATION, NATIONAL CONGRESS OF PARENTS AND TEACHERS Mrs. BULL. Thank you, sir. I am Mrs. Fred L. Bull, chairman of legislation for the National Congress of Parents and Teachers. I appreciate very much this opportunity to appear before you and to express my views and the views of my organization regarding the crucial problems facing our public school system and our State and local fiscal authorities. Our National Congress is a voluntary organization with a membership of more than 11 million men and women who are taxpayers in every State and Territory of the Union. Mr. BAILEY. The Chair would like to observe that there are a lot more of you than there are in the chambers of commerce. Mrs. BULL. Our sole concern is for children-their health, their education, and their welfare. In an organization as large and democratic as ours it is understandable that we find a wide variety of opinions. However, we have certain basic legislation policies, each of which must be ap proved by at least 30 State congresses before it can be added to or deleted from our national program." These policies determine, at all times, our legislative action and are briefly summarized as follows: That our free public school system should be maintained and strengthened. That ever-increasing needs of our schools require action at all levels of government: local, State, and National. That Federal funds for the support of education should go to publicly controller, tax-supported schools only. That provisions should be made to insure minimum Federal and maximum local control. That no legislation be promoted by the NCPT unless it has bipartisan support. That States and Territories be encouraged to put forth their best efforts to equalize opportunities within their own boundaries. NEED FOR SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION The great shortage of classrooms in every part of the country has grown more and more acute each year even as States and local communities have constantly bettered their own efforts to finance their own programs of school construction. During the last two Congresses, our national organization has doubled and redoubled its efforts to secure legislation that would have provided aid from the Federal Government to States and Territories for school-building construction. Today, despite greater effort and soaring costs at the local and State levels, the need for school construction is greater than ever. Like Alice in Wonderland, we have had to run faster and faster just to stand still. We feel we deprive children of their birthright when we push them into greatly overcrowded classrooms with inadequate teaching equipment and facilities, or send them to school in shifts, cheating them of a half day's schooling which is provided for others. Certainly it is not conducive to quality education when the teacher has no time for the slow learner, the rapid learner, the troublemaker, or the children who need special attention; actually, the entire class is handicapped under such conditions. You have heard testimony to the fact that States and local communities have tried to cope with these problems. Hundreds of school bonds have been sold, debt service charges have mounted appallingly, many communities and States have reached the limits of their bonded indebtedness, some have taxed themselves to capacity and curbed other essential services, and still the need grows. We agree with the United States Chamber of Commerce that American education has much to be proud of and that substantial gains have been made in recent years; in fact, our organization has worked diligently to achieve these gains at the grassroots and we know something of the costs and sacrifices. We do not agree that these needs are rapidly decreasing; on the contrary, we know they not only still exist, but in many places are increasing. INADEQUATE TEACHERS' SALARIES : As we have appeared before committees of the Congress in past years to call attention to unmet needs of our educational system, especially the shortage of classrooms, we have become increasingly more aware of the other great shortage-the inadequate supply of qualified teachers. There is no way to measure fully the waste in the development of human resources as a result of the shortage of qualified teachers of our children. The deficiency in numbers has obscured the more serious and greater deficiency in the quality of personnel. Since World War II, we have lacked more than 100,000 qualified teachers every year. Parents all over this country are shocked that today approximately 29 percent of all elementary school teachers in the United States have less than 4 years of college preparation. It is even more significant when we realize that these elementary school years are the most crucial years in a child's life and he needs an extremely able teacher. Even the veterinarian who treats our cattle and the dentist who treats our teeth are required to have 5 or more years of college preparation, yet so many teachers dealing with the minds of our children have less than 4 years. Even more disturbing is the fact that too few young people are going into the profession and too few of those who do enter it actually stay. The Rockefeller report "Pursuit of Excellence" claims that 52.1 percent of all college graduates all over this country for the next 10 years would be needed to meet the country's teacher shortage in the decade ahead. We know from experience that higher salaries is the key factor in securing and in retaining qualified teachers. Parents who are closest to our schools know that in the final analysis it is the teacher that makes the difference and that quality education depends largely upon quality teachers. Adequate salary scales would mean selective recruitment and thus higher standards with less teacher turnover, which adds up to improvement in the quality of teaching. Until we build up respect for the teaching profession by placing our dollars where we place our values, we will have to continue to outbid our neighboring States and communities for the few qualified teachers, leaving the less wealthy communities whomever is left. We feel this is very unfair to children. FEDERAL AID NEEDED Piecemeal approaches to the construction and salary problems will not be sufficient. We need bold and courageous action in both these areas and we need it now. These problems have been accumulating for three decades. Many States have made valiant efforts to cope with construction needs, while others have tried to provide adequate salary increases; few have been able to do both, at least to any degree of satisfaction or adequacy. We feel that our government at the local, State, and national levels has an inescapable obligation to provide increased moral and financial support to education if the American school system is to be able to meet the challenges of the present and of the future. As taxpayers our membership seems to think not so much of the cost of providing an adequate and suitable program of education for the children of this country, but of the tremendously greater cost of not providing it. I am not speaking for any particular bill, but, rather, putting my organization on record as feeling that school construction and salary increase are the two most essential needs of education today. Mr. Chairman, we recognize the ability and the sincerity of your committee, and are confident that you will report out a bill to meet today's education crisis. I thank you for the privilege of appearing before you today. Mr. BAILEY. I sincerely hope that the committee will not disappoint you and the 11 million other members of your group. Mrs. BULL. Thank you, sir. Mr. BAILEY. We feel you are sincerely interested in the welfare of your children. Let me compliment you on a very excellent statement. Mr. Brademas, do you have any questions? Mr. BRADEMAS. I, too, want to thank Mrs. Bull for one of the most forthright and commendable statements we have yet had before the committee. Mr. BAILEY. Mr. Hiestand? Mr. HIESTAND. Mrs. Bull, may I say that the objectives that you cite on page 1 cannot be challenged and will be agreed to, I am quite sure, by both sides in this committee. They are very laudable and they are well stated and should be approved in every way. I have one question, not being familiar with recent figures despite my previous background, you have stated on page 3 that we have lacked 100,000 qualified teachers every year. What is the source of the estimate? Mrs. BULL. One source was quoted here the other day by the chamber of commerce, I think, in their testimony. But I secured it from Miss Ruth Stout's report to this committee. I think I heard her say that. Also, it is on file with the National Education Association. Mr. HIESTAND. Mr. Chairman, is that agency agreed on figures, 100,000 shortage, 100,000 teachers? Mrs. BULL. I will be glad to get that and submit it later to you for the record. Mr. HIESTAND. Thank you. Mr. BAILEY. Again let us thank you. I had your support in the fight 2 years ago for school construction. If I were going to criticize your organization I would say that you did not respond as wholeheartedly to the alert; that you should flood your Members of Congress with telegrams about the time that vote was being taken. If I had had the proper support from your organization nationwide I would not have been short the five votes. Mrs. BULL. Yes, sir. We are well aware of that close margin. Mrs. BULL. Of course, we do not dictate to our States and we had certain States Mr. BAILEY. I certainly think the time is at hand when you ought to dictate to your Congressmen. Do you live here in the city of Washington? |