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Noting the significant increase since 1990 in food-borne illnesses affecting school children, these hearings transcripts provide testimony on the safety of federal school lunches. Statements by Senator Richard Durbin and Representatives Stephen Horn, Janice Schakowsky, and Carolyn Maloney emphasized the array of federal agencies with various food safety responsibilities, food safety agencies' inability to mandate food recalls, and the need for better cooperation and communication between the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Representative Rosa DeLauro discussed findings of unsanitary conditions and unsafe food handling practices in Chicago area schools, recordkeeping flaws preventing officials from tracing food contamination to its source, the need to consolidate and streamline the number of federal agencies/committees responsible for protecting food, and the need to give the USDA and FDA authority to conduct mandatory recalls. General Accounting Office testimony recommended making schools aware of federal inspection and compliance records of potential food suppliers and described USDA and FDA measures to protect the food supply from deliberate contamination. Officials from the FDA and USDA described their respective roles in ensuring food safety and procedures for responding to illness outbreaks. An official of the Center for Science in the Public Interest discussed gaps in the food safety system and urged passage of the Durbin-DeLauro Safe Food Act. Two parents from a food safety advocacy group testified about their childrens food-borne illnesses, urged trace-back capability and accountability, advocated a single food safety agency, and maintained that overemphasizing consumer education misdirects responsibility for food safety from producers to consumers. Counsel for the National Food Processors Association asserted that mandatory recall is unnecessary because of industry cooperation with federal recall requests and maintained that a single food safety agency is not likely to provide the kinds of benefits proposed. Questions for witnesses related to interagency cooperation and communication, bioterrorism possibilities, specific incidents of foodborne illnesses and the followup investigations, USDA guidance to districts regarding procurement procedures, and concerns about due process. Appended to the transcripts are prepared statements, letters, and charts illustrating the school lunch supply chain and food safety oversight responsibilities. (KB)

The focus of this hearing was on lessons learned in the District of Columbia public schools in the year preceding the hearing. In his opening remarks, Senator Brownback (Kansas) remarked that one of the first lessons is that the academic quality of the schools is not good enough and is in dire need of improvement. A second set of lessons focuses on discipline and school safety. The first hearing witness was Gloria L. Jarmon, of the U.S. General Accounting Office, who spoke about the funding of school repairs in the District of Columbia. Delays in school repairs hindered the operation of the District schools in the preceding year. The second speaker, David L. Cotton, accompanied by Ed Fritts and Marvin Allmond who were members of a firm that audited the District of Columbia schools procurement process. Irregularities in the procurement process and the need for further investigation were pointed out. The statement of Joyce Ladner of the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority discussed the steps taken to improve the poor condition of the District's schools and instructional effectiveness. Accomplishments that began to put into place the foundations of better learning, including administrative changes, were outlined. The testimony of Julius W. Becton, Jr., the Superintendent of Schools, reviewed the progress made in the relatively short time in which the newly appointed administration has operated. Improvements to facilities and personnel and financial management were outlined. The final panelist was Taalib-Din Uqdah, businessman and custodial parent of D.C. public school students, who spoke about the expectations and experiences of parents for their children's schools. An appendix contains supporting material from the Government Accounting Office and the school system, as well as prepared statements of some of the speakers. (SLD)

A hearing before the oversight committee for the District of Columbia (D.C.) public schools provided the opportunity for several senators and educators to comment on the progress of educational reform in the District's public schools. The hearing was held at a time when the opening of the city's public schools was delayed because of their many safety and code violations. Representative Richard K. Armey spoke about the conditions in the D.C. schools and discussed the school choice legislation he has sponsored. Jeanne Allen, president of the Center for Education Reform, discussed charter schools and emphasized that the priorities of the public school system are not consistent with fundamental education reform. Nina Shokraii of the Heritage Foundation advocated vouchers to allow parents to send their children to schools of their choice. Kent B. Amos discussed a proposal to change the funding of charter schools in the District of Columbia. Bruce K. MacLaury, Chairman of the Emergency Transition Education Board of Trustees of the District of Columbia Public Schools, presented the views of the transitional board about the progress toward school reform in the city's schools and offered support for charter schools. General Julius W. Becton, Jr., the appointed Superintendent of Schools, discussed the condition of the schools in general and outlined some improvements made under his administration, focusing on the ongoing physical plant repairs. An appendix contains the District of Columbia Student Opportunity Scholarship Act of 1997 and some supporting statements, including prepared remarks of those who testified at the hearing. (SLD)

This document presents a field hearing of the Governmental Affairs Committee to examine the current reform efforts in science and mathematics education at the federal and state levels, focusing specifically on the experiences of Ohio. Nine witnesses representing various educational levels presented testimony concerning mathematics and science education initiatives in Ohio. Initiatives and issues discussed included: (1) the Ohio Proficiency Test; (2) Project Discovery, a project focusing on preparing middle school students to think critically and solve problems; (3) the National Center for Science Teaching and Learning; (4) curriculum reform; (5) societal factors influencing reform; (6) collaboration among the higher education, public education, and business sectors; (7) the B-WISER Institute, a summer camp and follow-up program that empowers young women to achieve in science; and (8) the under-representation of minorities and women in mathematics and science. Appendices contain copies of prepared statements by the witnesses and other participants. (MDH)

The transcript of the hearing that examined S. 1951, a bill to establish a Federal Interagency Council on Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education, is presented. The purpose of the bill is to promote cooperation and coordination among the dozen or so federal agencies that administer programs in science and math education. Witnesses include the following officials: (1) John Andelin, Office of Technology Assessment; (2) Christopher T. Cross, Office of Educational Research and Improvement; (3) Mark O. Hatfield, Senator from Oregon; (4) Sue Kemnitzer, former executive director, Task Force on Women, Minorities, and the Handicapped in Science and Technology; (5) J. Thomas Ratchford, National Science Foundation; (6) Richard E. Stephens, Department of Energy; and (7) Luther Williams, National Science Foundation. The text of S. 1951, the prepared statements of witnesses in order of appearance, a report on "Coordination of Programs on Mathematics and Science Education for the Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, and Other Agencies," and a letter to Senator Glenn from Christopher T. Cross dated June 14, 1990 are appended. (KR)

The focus of this hearing was two Government Accounting Office (GAO) evaluative reports on the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) programs to educate school-aged youth about the dangers of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and ways to avoid human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The GAO's first report is based on its national survey of school districts and their policies on reaching young people who stay in school and on training teachers in AIDS instruction. The GAO found that more Federal leadership is needed to improve the HIV curriculum and to train teachers about students' knowledge, behavior, and beliefs. The second report concerns the slow progress made by Federal, State, and local governments in reaching the small but critical percentage of youth who are not in school. This group includes the runaways, the homeless, the incarcerated, the migrants, and street youth who may be involved in a variety of high-risk behaviors. Witnesses before the committee included educators and government officials. (JD)

Fundamental to a realistic assessment of educational quality is an assessment of United States education statistics and information-gathering efforts. This hearing focused on the identification of information needed and steps the Congress needs to take to make education information available on a timely basis so that policy decisions can be made. Opening remarks of Senators J. Bingaman, Simon, H. Kohl, and J. Heinz are included. Ten witnesses provided testimony: (1) Christopher T. Cross, Assistant Secretary for Education Research and Improvement reviewed the National Assessment of Educational Progress, accompanied by Jeanne Griffith, acting director, Cross-Cutting Education Statistics and Analysis Division, and David Sweet, director, Elementary and Secondary Outcomes Division; (2) Patricia A. Graham, dean, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University; (3) Chester E. Finn, professor, Vanderbilt University; (4) Denis P. Doyle, senior research fellow, Hudson Institute; (5) H. Dickson Corbett, director, Research for Better Schools; (6) Ernest Boyer, president, Princeton Office, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching; (7) Emerson J. Elliott, acting commissioner, National Center for Education Statistics; (8) Lois-ellin Datta, Director for Program Evaluation in Human Services Areas, United States General Accounting Office; (9) Gordon M. Ambach, executive director, Council of Chief State School Officers; and (10) George E. Hall, president, Slater Hall Information Products. Prepared statements by each of these witnesses are provided in an appendix, which includes other articles and remarks on the quality of education information. (SLD)

Testimony concerning innovative state and local programs which expand family choice in education, and the Federal government's role in facilitating such programs, is presented. Testimony reviews research findings that bear on the issue, variables involved in planning educational choice, reforms proposed in the Minnesota plan for K-12 education, Minnesota's Post-Secondary Enrollment Options Act of 1985, private sector alternatives in education, and disadvantages of alternative education programs, such as tuition tax credits and tuition voucher systems. Copious additional material submitted for the record includes: (1) three issues of the periodical "Educational Freedom" which focus on educational vouchers and the advantages and constitutionality of tuition tax credits, (2) discussions of the effectiveness of public and private schools, and the organization of the schools in relation to politics and markets, (3) a description of the Prince George's County school system's "Workplace School," (4) a discussion of how the selection of strategy for designing federal programs influences program operation and effects, (5) arguments against the use of tuition vouchers, (6) a brief position statement of the Minnesota Federation of Citizens for Educational Freedom, Inc., (7) the Minnesota Congress of Parents, Teachers, and Students' statement on legislative proposals concerning open enrollment and parent choice, and the desirability of limiting publicly funded choice to public schools, (8) the brief position statement of associated liberal organizations, (9) recommendations for the fundamental restructuring of Minnesota's educational system, and (10) the Clearinghouse on Educational Choice's analysis of population sectors most likely to support educational vouchers. (RH)

This publication is a comprehensive record of testimony and exhibits presented to the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the U.S. Senate during hearings on five proposed bills to establish a Department of Education. The hearings were conducted on October 12 and 13, 1977 to consider the following bills: S.991, S.255, S.300, S.894, and S.1685. Testimony and exhibits are presented chronologically and indexed alphabetically by witnesses' names. The complete text of each bill is also included. (JG)