Cassidy, Bill: The Senate committee on health, education, labor and pensions will please come to order. Education is important. It can lift an entire family and the generations that come after out of poverty. And it gives the children, the grandchildren, everyone else, the opportunity to be a part of a better future. And on both sides of the dais, we are interested in how do the American people achieve the American dream. And education is the power to do that. But not every child has an equal opportunity for quality education, which is to say, the status quo isn't working for everyone. We need something a little bit different. That's why I'm here. I'm here to say that. I'm here to say that. I'm here to say that. I'm here to say that. I'm here to say that. I'm here to say that. I'm here to say that. for National Assessment of Education Progress, NAPE, I'm here to say that. were the lowest we've seen in 30 years. Only one third of high school seniors at a proficient reading level, nearly 60% of employers say that high school graduates are not job ready. Now, some of my colleagues will say we just need to throw more money at it. And you know what, we tried that. It actually didn't work. And so during COVID, billions, literally billions were given to school systems, and yet these scores stayed low. The idea that this is solely a resource issue Who are you gonna believe, your lying eyes? School choice is the avenue for expressing the innovation that we need Now, education is not one size fit all. The status quo overlooks students who fit differently. And so there is a demand for innovative approaches to teaching children with specific and sometimes complex needs. And some, public charter schools, some charter and private schools, other private schools, parochial schools are doing this. And full disclosure, my wife, Dr. Laura Cassidy, has a public charter school designed to serve children with dyslexia. And the curriculum provides early and necessary interventions to support the students struggling to read. Students who in a traditional school just can't comprehend, but they're bright. And if you speak to them as they need to be spoken to, if you will, teach them as they need to be taught to learn, they will achieve their fullest potential. That should be our goal with every child, but that takes innovation. and the SAIL Future Academy, specialize in meeting at-risk students where they are to improve their academic achievement. I'm also impressed with the St. George Municipal School Unit providing hands-on learning and trades that supports the local economy, such as boat building, woodworking, metalwork, and other aspects of technology used in that. You can imagine that those employers say that the high school graduate is job-ready because it's innovation. So these types of schools with more tailored education should be accessible to all. And School Choice does that. It puts the parent in charge of the child's education, allowing them to choose the educational pathway, the innovation that best meets their child's needs. By the way, I went to a traditional public charter, public high school, all the way down, and it worked well. My son went to an inner-city public high school, and it has worked extremely well. The traditional schools work for many students. What we're asking, though, is to give the parent the choice if it does not. So if the child's struggling, and if there's a teacher there, and she's got this great idea, some innovative idea that can meet that struggling child's needs, then we should empower her to go out and start that school that meets that niche for those types of students. Now, sometimes when you begin to speak of this, we just break into kind of no, yes, no, yes. School Choice has on public schools. When you empower parents with choice, they choose the educational system that's best for them. But that prompts lower-performing schools to improve, and healthy competition drives results. It is a win-win, and that has been demonstrated in school systems. Now, our children deserve the best chance at success. to achieve his potential. But everyone could say that of their children and grandchildren. I'm proud to say that provisions from my Educational Choice for Children's Act, included in President Trump's Historic Working Families Tax Cuts, further enables parents to supplement their child's education. And if they're in a failing school, to be able to choose a school which succeeds for that child. Or to get some after-school tutoring if that's what they need to increase their opportunities. And by the way, this isn't partisan, at least not among the people. The American people want school choice. It is supported by nearly three-quarters of K through 12 parents. Republicans overwhelmingly support, more than half of self-identified Democrats support as well. So it's not about public school versus private, not about teachers versus parents, not about Republicans versus Democrats. It's about giving a parent access to the innovative educational program best for her child, so that her child can maximize her talents, or his talents, and achieve their dreams. With that, I recognize Senator Sanders.