Education

Today, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene announced that the Department of Education has recognized the Bear Creek School in Redmond as a National Blue Ribbon School of 2014. The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program recognizes schools based on their overall academic excellence. The Bear Creek School was selected because their standardized test scores in reading and math placed them among the… Read more »

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene welcomed an announcement from U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today that the USDA will begin taking applications from states for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training (SNAP E&T) pilot program, which was included by Rep. DelBene in the Farm Bill reauthorization enacted earlier this year. The provision is… Read more »

This week, many Washington parents are receiving letters from school districts about their schools’ failure to meet adequate yearly progress (AYP) standards under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Under NCLB, schools’ AYP status this year is based on whether 100 percent of students pass the state reading and math assessments—a goal that is simply unattainable.… Read more »

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene released the following statement reacting to today’s draft order from Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler to update the federal E-rate program, which has provided critical discounts for schools and libraries for telecommunications and Internet services since its enactment in 1997: “Ensuring that every child in the U.S. has… Read more »

MOUNT VERNON — Rep. Suzan DelBene stopped by Skagit Valley College’s Mount Vernon campus Monday morning in part to see the campus’ new Lewis Hall take shape. Construction on the new building, which will contain classrooms as well as faculty and administrative offices, was started last year. Slated for its grand opening in the fall, the project, which also tears down the… Read more »

THE skyrocketing price of textbooks is one reason more college students are finding higher education increasingly unaffordable. “Open” texts — free or low-cost online alternatives to the printed renditions — are a promising potential solution. Students seem to love ’em. But there need to be more open textbooks, and they should be as good, or better, than the… Read more »

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene introduced bipartisan legislation today to help college students save money on textbooks by encouraging the use of low-cost or free digital course materials in higher education. Called the E-BOOK Act (or Electronic Books Opening Opportunity for Knowledge), the bill will establish up to 10 pilot programs at public institutions throughout the country to… Read more »

Congresswoman DelBene Leads Bipartisan Letter to FCC Chairman Wheeler Urging Action to Improve Internet Access in Schools BOTHELL – Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01), along with 25 other members of Congress, sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) urging action to improve and modernize the federal E-rate program, which has provided critical discounts for… Read more »

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene gave the following remarks on the floor of the House of Representatives yesterday, voicing her support for the bipartisan compromise to reverse the doubling of student loan interest rates that occurred on July 1, 2013. The Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act will tie rates for student loans to the 10-year Treasury note, lowering the rates for Stafford loans… Read more »

CONGRESS squandered a year of potential progress on student-loan interest rates. The result of its inaction was a sharp rise in rates on Monday.Rates on federally subsidized Stafford loans jumped from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent, essentially slapping a $1,000 tax hike on students, according to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.The average student-loan debt is around $25,000, which can include… Read more »