Grijalva-hinojosa Statement on ESEA Conference

Statement

Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX) released the following statement after the House and Senate appointed conferees to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) without including a single member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in the negotiations.

"As Co-Chairs of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Education Taskforce and Senior Members of the House Democratic Education and Workforce Committee, we are deeply disappointed that the conferee committee failed to include a single member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. This long-awaited reauthorization requires a diverse array of views to be properly represented to ensure important civil rights and equity protections for all children, regardless of race, ethnicity, language, country of origin, income or disability.

"One in every four students enrolled in K-12 public schools in the United States is Latino. In California and Texas, the two most populous states in the nation, Latino students comprise 54% and 52% of public school students respectively. In states like Arizona, Latino student enrollments have climbed to approximately 44%. Given the increasing diversity and needs of our public schools, it is more important than ever to represent these diverse needs in the legislative process. This is a missed opportunity to ensure that the final ESEA reauthorization will benefit all students around the country."

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