Education

Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson remains a leading advocate for quality education and equal access for all our nation’s school children. In her almost thirty years as a legislator, Congresswoman Johnson has fought to ensure that education is on top of the legislative agenda.  She believes that our young people are our most vital resource for the future of America, and if we do not provide all our nation’s school children with the opportunity to succeed, we are wasting millions of great minds and future leaders.

Congresswoman Johnson realizes that the federal government has a unique role in helping to reduce class size, improve academic standards and accountability, aiding school construction, making college more affordable and ensuring that all American schools are good schools. She has been an ardent supporter of lowering student loan interest rates and increasing the maximum Pell Grant award.

Congresswoman Johnson has been a leader on numerous education issues including:

READING IS FUNDAMENTAL

Congresswoman Johnson continues to play a lead role in ensuring funding for Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), the nation’s largest children’s literacy organization. Last year RIF provided new books to 4.5 million children and mobilized thousands of community members to support reading achievement.  

By providing new books to children through a series of different programs, RIF helps millions of students who are at high risk for educational failure. Dallas ISD offers one of the nation’s largest RIF programs serving almost 50,000 students in grades pre-kindergarten through eight.

RIF works to engage children and their parents and to utilize all aspects of a child’s environment - school, home, and community ‑ to reinforce the value of literacy.

CHILDREN OF FALLEN SOLDIERS PELL GRANT ACT

Congresswoman Johnson has introduced H.R. 567, the ‘Children of Fallen Soldiers Pell Grant Act of 2007’ in order to provide educational opportunities and access to higher education for young people who have lost a parent or guardian as a result of the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This bill offers financial assistance and access to higher education for young people who lost a parent or guardian as a result of the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. This bill provides financial assistance for higher education by waiving the income eligibility requirements on Pell Grant applications. By waiving this requirement, children of fallen soldiers will be able to receive a maximum Pell Grant award.

Since 2001, more than 3,300 U.S. service members have died during their deployment, and over 1,200 children have lost a parent as a result of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. These young people will continue to pay the price of protecting America with the lifetime absence of a parent. For those children, this bill holds the promise of opportunity and new dreams that could make a world of difference.

EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON MATH AND SCIENCE LECTURE SERIES

In the fall of 2003, the University of Texas at Dallas launched the Eddie Bernice Johnson Math and Science Lecture Series at the Townview Magnet School in Dallas. The goal of the lecture series is to expose Dallas-area high school students to brilliant speakers that can become role models and help motivate them to pursue educational and career opportunities in the fields of mathematics and science.

Since its inception, the Eddie Bernice Johnson Lecture Series has been fortunate enough to have many brilliant speakers – including former Secretary of Education Dr. Rod Paige. As American students continue to fall further behind students in other countries in the fields of math and science, it becomes more and more important to empower our youth. Inspiring our young people to pursue opportunities in science and math is not only an investment in our youth, but also an investment in the future of America’s global competitiveness.

NATIONAL HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES WEEK

In January 2007, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson once again sponsored a Resolution to commemorate National Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Week.

Celebrated the week of September 10th, National HBCU Week serves as a time to celebrate the great accomplishments of these institutions and recognize their importance to our nation’s history.

For over 170 years, our HBCUs have been on the forefront of preparing our Nation’s youth for a bright path and successful future. For much of our history, HBCUs represented the only opportunity African American students had to obtain a degree in higher education. Today, America’s HBCUs provide excellent educational opportunities to over 200,000 diverse students across the United States.