As a member of the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor, Sablan said he is working to ensure that the CNMI will receive state-like treatment when it comes to Title 1 funds.
These are provided by the U.S. Department of Education to bridge the gap between low-income students and other students. Title 1 funds provide over $7 billion to school systems all over the country each year.
“Title 1 is the main source of funding in education under the law but right now, what we get is a ‘set-aside’ that gives us much less funding on a per-student basis than if we were under the formula used for the states,” Sablan said.
“If we cannot get a state-like treatment under Title 1, we should still get a corresponding increased funding as if we were, because our students deserve better” he added.
Sablan said he will also push for the inclusion of the CNMI in Early Reading First program to help prepare young children to succeed in school.
“We are not included, probably because we did not have representation in Congress, but now we do,” he said.
He also wants the CNMI included in the Race to the Top and Invest in Innovation programs.
President Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan earlier announced that states leading the way on school reform will be eligible to compete for $4.35 billion.
“Again, it is a question of giving territories the same opportunities as the states, and I will be fighting year in and year out in Congress to ensure the CNMI will get its share,” Sablan said.
He has proposed an entirely new federal program to attract and retain teachers in remote areas of the country, like the CNMI or like rural Montana.
“The program provides incentives similar to those that bring doctors to remote areas, student loan forgiveness, help with relocation costs and more for continuing education and earn advanced degrees, both for new recruits and for our teachers who are already working in the Northern Marianas,” Sablan said.
Opportunities to build the educational system and improve the lives of students and teachers “are there for the taking,” and he intends to continue to find and create opportunities.
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