Florida

In far too many states, students are  denied access to the resources that provide a meaningful opportunity to learn.  There is no substitute for opportunity, not in our schools, our workplaces, or our society.  Opportunity is at the heart of our American dream.  Yet many students who need a high-quality preschool go without. Many children are taught by ineffective teachers lacking in baseline qualifications and experience. Too many attend under-performing schools that lack the resources necessary to effectively raise achievement.

In March 2009, President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) into law, nearly doubling the federal investment in public education. As funding reaches states, decisions must be made that reflect and support the law’s intention – to protect existing funding levels for our public schools while ensuring LEA’s prioritize improvement and opportunities for all students by institutionalizing resource accountability standards. Now is the time for state and local policymakers to take every available step to eliminate the opportunity gap.

In the United States, every student should have the equal right to a high-quality education.  But as our most recent data demonstrates, for far too many students, quality and equity are aspirations, not realities.  Few states are providing public school educations that result in academic proficiency for students.  And even fewer states are providing access to a high-quality education to all students, particularly those from historically disadvantaged groups.

While many organizations have worked effectively at the state level to support research and advocacy efforts to guarantee that all children have the resources they need for an equitable opportunity to learn, the Opportunity to Learn Campaign recognizes that state remedies have not been sufficient to address the deep inequities in educational opportunity found both within and across states. A larger federal role is needed to ensure that all students have a fair and substantive opportunity to learn.