Washington, DC – As Congress prepares to start the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, four national organizations committed to improving educational outcomes for America’s high school students are urging the passage of the Graduation Promise Act of 2007 (GPA). The Graduation Promise Act is designed to improve low performing high schools and reduce dropout rates, and is sponsored by Congressman Ruben Hinojosa, D-TX, in the U.S. House of Representatives; in the Senate, a companion bill was introduced by U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman, D-NM, Richard Burr, R-NC, and Health, Education, Pensions, and Labor Committee Chairman Edward Kennedy, D-MA. “The Graduation Promise Act” is enthusiastically supported by the Center for American Progress, the Alliance for Excellent Education, Jobs for the Future, and the National Council of La Raza.

"The Graduation Promise Act reflects the recommendations in a recent report, Addressing America’s Dropout Challenge, co-authored by the Center for American Progress and Jobs for the Future. Improving graduation rates is key to our nation’s economic success,” said John Podesta, President and CEO of the Center for American Progress. “We need to aid state efforts to expand on proven methods for addressing the dropout crisis.”

National graduation rates have been static at an unacceptable 70 percent for the last decade. For minority and low-income students, the situation is especially dire. High school students from low-income families drop out of school at six times the rate of their peers from high-income families, and only about 53 percent of Black students and 58 percent of Hispanic students graduate on time from high school with a regular diploma, compared to 76 percent of White students.

Not only are our students dropping out at high rates, but two of three students are inadequately prepared for college and the modern workplace. The nation’s fifteen-year-olds, when measured against their counterparts in other industrialized nations, rank fifteenth in reading, twenty-third in math, and thirtieth in problem-solving skills.

“The nation’s dropout rates are a cry for federal action,” said Gov. Bob Wise, President of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia. “If Congress can show the political will, this legislation will pave the way for guaranteeing that every student graduates and becomes prepared to succeed in postsecondary education and the 21st century workplace.”

The U.S. Department of Labor projects that almost 90 percent of the fastest growing U.S. jobs require at least some postsecondary education. “Students without a high school diploma are increasingly limited in their employment opportunities,” said Marlene B. Seltzer, President and CEO of Jobs for the Future, a national education reform organization. “With little hope of economic independence or career advancement, millions of young people are destined to lives of unemployment and poverty. The Graduation Promise Act is needed to keep students in school so they can obtain economic security and better job skills.”

“Far too many Latino and African American students are lost year after year to our worst performing schools,” said Janet Murguía, President and CEO of the National Council of La Raza, the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S. “The Graduation Promise Act will be able to provide the critical resources needed to close this graduation gap.”

The Graduation Promise Act authorizes $2.5 billion in new funding to:

• Create a federal-state-local secondary school reform partnership focused on transforming the nation’s lowest performing high schools; 
• Build capacity for high school improvement and provide resources to ensure high school educators and students facing the greatest challenges receive the support they need to succeed;
• Strengthen state systems to identify and target the level of reform and resources necessary to improve low performing high schools and ensure transparency and accountability for that process;
• Advance the research and development needed to ensure a robust supply of highly effective secondary school models for those most at risk of being left behind, and identify the most effective reforms;
• Support states to align their policies and systems to meet the goal of college and career-ready graduation for all students.

The Graduation Promise Act has been endorsed by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and original cosponsors include Representatives Joe Baca (D-CA), Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Danny Davis (D-IL), Chaka Fattah (D-PA), Charles Gonzalez (D-TX), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Barbara Lee (D-CA), John Lewis (D-GA), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Solomon Ortiz (D-TX), Silvestre Reyes (D-TX), Ciro Rodriguez (D-TX), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), John Salazar (D-CO), Linda Sánchez (D-CA), Bobby Scott (D-VA), Jose Serrano (D-NY), Hilda Solis (D-CA), and Nydia Velazquez (D-NY).