Sablan bill seeks to amend funding for CNMI schools
A bill introduced by Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) seeks to amend the U.S. Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to adjust funding levels for certain outlying areas, including the CNMI.
In filing House Bill 851 in Congress, Sablan noted that funding for insular areas schools and for schools managed by the Bureau of Indian Education at the Interior Department is “separated” from the normal distribution of Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I-A grants to states.
“And, as the Supreme Court ruled in the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education, separate is not equal. I made that point this week at a hearing of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education,” Sablan said.
He said Title I-A funding is supposed to help areas where family incomes are lower than the rest of the nation, and give students in grades K-12 the opportunity for a U.S.-standard education.
“I have introduced legislation, House Resolution 851, in this Congress that would integrate funding for island schools into the mainstream and treat us more like the U.S. states,” Sablan said.
Sablan’s bill has been referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce.