Education

Congressman Jared Polis’s advocacy for additional early childhood education funding paid off today as the U.S. Department of Education announced that a portion of this year’s Race to the Top grants will be dedicated to state Early Learning Challenge grants. Department officials cited such advocacy as a major factor in Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s decision to offer these grants. Colorado is expected to be in line to receive funding. “Decades of research shows that when children are engaged i... Read more

Madam Chair, Congress should be the taxpayers' advocate to root out waste, fraud, and abuse wherever it occurs; and this is particularly true when it comes to student financial aid. Both of my amendments pertain to this category of making sure we have the right structure in place to in one case incentivize and in another case have a strategy to combat waste, fraud, and abuse. Every dollar we lose to fraud and waste is a dollar that's not invested in our young people, a dollar of deficit spending... Read more

With the leading House Education and the Workforce Republican offering two bills that weaken the cause of education reform, Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) today announced the introduction of the Growth to Excellence Act (H.R. 3845), which reforms No Child Left Behind to allow states to develop their own policies that increase student achievement and measure it over time, and that instill accountability. The bill was authored and first introduced by Senators Mark Udall (D-CO) and Michael Bennet (... Read more

Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) released the following statement today praising the Obama administration for granting Colorado and nine other states a waiver from onerous provisions of No Child Left Behind so that they can pursue their own reforms that improve student achievement and accountability. Polis will attend a White House event this afternoon at which President Obama will announce the waivers. “Colorado’s waiver will allow our state to continue as a national leader in bold education refo... Read more

On the heels of news that the Obama administration has granted Colorado and 10 other states a waiver from the controversial requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind education law, Colorado Democratic Congressman Jared Polis introduced a House version of the Growth to Excellence Act (H.R. 3845) written by Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and Mark Udall. The bill would rework No Child Left Behind by granting greater authority to the states to develop student achievement and school ac... Read more

Concerned that draft education legislation released by House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) undermines reforms that improve public education and boost student achievement, Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) today wrote to Kline and Committee Ranking Member George Miller (D-CA) urging a bipartisan effort to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) with a focus on strengthening accountability and insisting on effective teacher and administrator ev... Read more

Democrat Urges House Chairman to Resume Bipartisan Talks on ‘No Child’ Congressional Quarterly – Lauren Smith The day before the chairman of the House education panel was slated to formally introduce two bills aimed at overhauling federal education law, a Democrat who formerly served on the committee urged him to reconsider bipartisan negotiations. Rep. Jared Polis of Colorado also contended that Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline’s bills wouldn’t go far enough in holding schools an... Read more

Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) released the following statement in reaction to President Obama’s State of the Union Address. “President Obama tonight outlined not only a blueprint for an economy built to last but an action agenda that reflects what Coloradans have been telling Congress to address for months: create jobs and strengthen the economy; reform education for our children and economic future; make college more affordable; invest in clean renewable energy to make us energy independent; a... Read more

The federal government may be able to do more than just sue states that enact harsh immigration laws. Twenty-four House Democrats are urging the Education Department and the Justice Department to use “any and all enforcement mechanisms available” to ensure that immigrant students — legal and illegal — are not denied access to public schools, as required under a 1982 Supreme Court ruling. In a letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan on Tuesday, the lawmakers said that state laws designed to cur... Read more

Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) today offered an amendment during the House Judiciary Committee’s consideration of an Internet piracy bill that would have protected colleges, universities and non-profit research institutions from compliance costs related to policing copyright protect content. The legislation—the Stop Internet Piracy Act (SOPA)—would hold colleges and universities responsible for preventing access to copyrighted material on their networks or schools could face legal action by the ... Read more