CONTENTS Broadway, Stan C., president, National Council of Higher Education Burkett, Lowell A., executive director, American Vocational Associa- Erlenborn, Hon. John N., a Representative in Congress from the Gereau, Mary Condon, legislative consultant, National Education (III) TO AUTHORIZE A WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1970 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, GENERAL SUBCOMMITTEE ON EDUCATION OF THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:10 a.m., in room 2257, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Roman C. Pucinski (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Pucinski, Dellenback, and Ruth. Also present: John F. Jennings, counsel; Alexandra Kisla, clerk; and Charles W. Radcliffe, minority counsel for education. Mr. PUCINSKI. The committee will come to order. The General Subcommittee on Education today begins hearings on H.R. 17772, a bill to authorize a White House Conference on Education. This bill has been introduced by our esteemed colleague on the committee, John Erlenborn, and has been cosponsored by a bipartisan group of Congressmen, Mr. Perkins, Mr. Ayres, Mrs. Green of Oregon, Mr. Quie, Mr. Dent, Mr. Bell of California, Mr. Pucinski, Mr. Reid of New York, Mr. Hathaway, Mr. Dellenback, Mr. Burton of California, Mr. Esch, Mr. Steiger of Wisconsin, Mr. Collins, Mr. Scherle, Mr. Ruth, and Mr. Don Clausen. (The text of the bill under consideration, H.R. 17772, follows:) [H.R. 17772, 91st Cong., second sess.] A BILL To authorize a White House Conference on Education Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President of the United States is authorized to call and conduct a White House Conference on Education in 1972 in order to stimulate a national assessment of the condition, needs, and goals of education and to obtain from a broadly representative group of citizens a report of findings and recommendations resulting from such assessment. SCOPE OF THE CONFERENCE SEC. 2. (a) In carrying out the purposes of this Act, participants in conferences and other activities at local, State, and Federal levels should consider all matters which they believe relevant to the broad purpose of the program, but should give special consideration to the following: (1) Preschool education (including child care and nutritional programs), with special attention to the needs of disadvantaged children. (2) The adequacy of primary education in providing all children with the fundamental skills of communication (reading, writing, spelling, and other elements of effective oral and written expression) and arithmetic. (3) The place of occupational education (including education in proprietary schools) in the educational structure and the role of vocational-technical education in assuring that the Nation's requirements for skilled manpower are met. (4) The structure and needs of higher education, including methods of providing adequate levels of institutional support and student assistance. (5) The adequacy of education at all levels in meeting special needs of individuals (such as the mentally or physically handicapped, economically disadvantaged, racially or culturally isolated, those who need bilingual instruction, or those who because they are exceptionally talented or intellectually gifted are badly served by regular school programs). (b) Participants in conference activities at the State and local levels may choose to narrow the scope of their deliberations to the educational problems which they consider most critical in their respective areas, but nevertheless should be encouraged by the National Conference Committee (established pursuant to section 3) to view such problems in the context of the total educational structure. NATIONAL CONFERENCE COMMITTEE SEC. 3. (a) The President is authorized to appoint a National Conference Committee (hereinafter referred to as the "Committee") consisting of not more than thirty-five members (of whom not more than twelve shall be educators) broadly representative of the public interest in education, and to designate two members thereof to serve respectively as Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Committee. (b) The Committee shall provide overall guidance and planning for the 1972 White House Conference on Education, may provide such assistance as it deems desirable in the organization of local and State conference activities preceding the White House conference, and shall be responsible for rendering a final report (and such interim reports as may be desirable) of the results, findings, and recommendations of the conference to the President and to the Congress not later than December 1, 1972. (c) The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, and the Commissioner of Education, shall each support the activities of the Committee through the provision of technical assistance and advice and consultation. (d) Members of the Committee shall serve without compensation, but may receive travel expenses (including per diem of subsistence) as authorized by section 5703 (b) of title 5, United States Code, for persons in the Government service employed intermittently, while employed in the business of the Committee away from their homes or regular places of business. (e) The Committee is authorized to select without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive civil service, and without regard to chapter 57 and subchapter 111 of chapter 53 of such title, relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates, a Conference Director and such supporting professional and clerical personnel as may be necessary to assist in carrying out its functions under this Act. GRANTS TO STATES SEC. 4. (a) From the sums appropriated pursuant to section 5 the Commis sioner of Education is authorized to make grants to the States, upon application of the Governor thereof, to assist in meeting the costs of State participation in the Whie House Conference program (including the conduct of conferences at the State and local levels). ((b) Grants made pursuant to subsection (a) shall be made after consultation with and with the approval of the Chairman of the Committee, and funds ap propriated for this purpose shall be apportioned among the States on an equitable basis, except that a basic apportionment of $25,000 shall first be made to each State, and no State shall receive an apportionment of more than $75,000. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS SEC. 5. There is hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act, and sums so appropriated shall remain available for expenditure until June 30, 1973. DEFINITION OF STATE SEC. 6. For the purposes of this Act, the term "State" includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Mr. PUCINSKI. Since Mr. Erlenborn will be our first witness, I will limit my comments to a few observations. White House Conferences are time-honored events convened for the purpose of focusing national attention on important issues. White House Conferences on Education have been called most recently by Presidents Eisenhower and Johnson. And it is no mere coincidence that these were the Presidents in office when the monumental education laws were enacted, the National Defense Education Act of 1958 and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Higher Education Act, both of 1965. John Erlenborn is to be praised for initiating this bill to call another White House Conference on Education. The issues may be different from those in 1955 and 1965, but the need for such a conference is no less pressing. I particularly want to congratulate John Erlenborn for focusing attention in H.R. 17772 on an examination of the role of occupational education and on the adequacy of primary education in providing all children with the basic skills of communication. If we are to achieve a balance in our educational system, I believe that these are the two essential issues to be resolved. I am most pleased to have our colleague Mr. Erlenborn here this morning. There is no question in my mind the White House Conference on Education deserves our highest priority, particularly when you consider the present statistics on unemployment, the highest rate of unemployment continuing to be among young people. I saw the figures released on September 1 showing that of those unemployed in this country the highest group, the highest identifiable group is the 16- to 19-year-olds who now constitute almost 16 percent of the total number of those unemployed. So I think you make a very strong case in urging a White House Conference on Education which will put special emphasis on this particular problem of occupational education. I have said many times, and I hope you share my views. It is my hope that some day we would evolve an educational system in this country that will give every youngster graduating from high school a marketable skill. I know of no one in my circle of friends, perhaps you might have some, who today can afford to pay a youngster's total cost of higher education. I believe that almost universally every young person attending higher education today must supplement whatever help he gets from his family through his own resources. So, then those who are college bound, perhaps even more so, ought to have some sort of marketable skill to help them earn the money they need while they are working their way through college. For that reason I would hope that we could evolve a concept that every youngster in this country can graduate with a marketable skill. Then if he wants to improve on that skill or develop a higher skill, a more sophisticated skill, fine. So, Mr. Erlenborn, we are happy to have you here. I need not relate that you are one of the hardest working members of the committee. So it is a pleasure to have you lead off with testimony on this bill. |