STATEMENT: Cynthia G. Brown on the Department of Education’s Equity and Excellence Commission’s Final Report

February 19, 2013

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Contact: Katie Peters
Phone: 202.741.6285
Email: kpeters@americanprogress.org

Washington, D.C. — Cynthia G. Brown, Vice President for Education Policy at the Center for American Progress, issued the following reaction to the Department of Education’s Equity and Excellence Commission’s final report, presented today to Education Secretary Arne Duncan:

The Equity and Excellence Commission’s report reflects the collective wisdom of many of the brightest minds in education. It gives a clear assessment of the failures of our education system to provide an equal educational opportunity to every child. And it provides significant, concrete recommendations for how to build, redesign, and hold accountable a system that will provide all children with the education they need and deserve. This must begin with an equitable funding system in which schools receive resources based on student needs instead of town or state wealth, in addition to great teachers and preschool opportunities for all.

I join my fellow commissioners today in calling on the secretary, Congress, states, and districts to take the report’s recommendations seriously. Too many reports of this kind have come before, only to be ignored or overlooked. We must act on the recommendations in this report and take the necessary steps toward a brighter future for our children and, by extension, our country. They can’t afford to wait any longer.

To speak with Cynthia Brown, please contact Katie Peters at kpeters@americanprogress.org or 202.741.6285.

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