May 12:
The Senate will convene at 2:00 p.m. and will be in a period of morning business with Senators
permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each, with the time until 5:30 p.m. equally divided and controlled
between the two Leaders or their designees. There will be no roll call votes on Monday. Senators should be prepared to vote as early as 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday in relation to the following items: the
McConnell amendment No. 4720 (energy) with a 60-vote threshold; the Reid amendment (energy) with a
60-vote threshold; passage of the flood insurance legislation (either S. 2284 or H.R. 3121); and cloture on
the motion to proceed to H.R. 980 (collective bargaining). If cloture on the motion to proceed is invoked, all post-cloture time will be yielded back and the motion to proceed will be agreed to.
Throughout my service in public office, both at the state and federal level, I have worked to make sure our children receive quality early education, elementary and secondary education, and have access to affordable and quality post-secondary education, be it college, university, or vocational training.
The federal role in elementary and secondary education is limited so that the states maintain control. The federal government only funds approximately 8% of K-12 education nationwide. Despite this limited role, I have been a strong supporter of initiatives to reduce classroom size, fully fund the federal obligation to special education, repair our crumbling schools, and give our teachers the tools they need to help children succeed. I know that South Dakota education officials and educators are working very hard to meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. I will continue to work with teachers, administrators, and government officials in South Dakota and in Washington to achieve the best possible education for our children.
In October of 2003, I joined Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) in requesting a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study to examine the unique challenges facing rural school districts. The following September, the nonpartisan GAO released that study, entitled "No Child Left Behind - Additional Assistance and Research on Effective Strategies Would Help Small Rural Districts." That report cited several specific challenges facing rural school districts. If you would like to view the report itself, please visit: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04734.pdf.
In order to make much needed improvement to NCLB, I have supported the No Child Left Behind Reform Act, S. 724. The bill provides much needed flexibility that educators across South Dakota have reported was missing from the initial program passed in 2002. I believe we need to make some basic changes to the underlying law to ensure a real difference and increase student achievement. Additionally, we must commit the necessary funding to the program so that states and school districts have the necessary resources to meet that target.
Quick link for Teachers:
Quick link for Students:
Financial Aid information for high school students heading to college.
Quick link for Parents:
Tim encourages parents' getting involved in their child's school and school work. He also suggests talking to their child's teacher before looking online for help.U.S. Department of Education: Homework Tips for Parents
SD Department
of Education | National
Parent Teacher Organization | SD
Head Start Programs (Early Childhood Education) | Dakota
Writing Project | Reach
Out and Read | Learn about adoption
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