We know that unemployment and welfare cases are going to be concentrated in the dropout group. Not only are dropouts going to be competing with great numbers of youngsters who are better prepared to face the job world but they are going to be seeking work in an economy in which the kinds of jobs they can do are shrinking in number. The only way we can minimize social costs over the long run is to invest more in education and training. The school dropout problem constitutes a tragic waste of human resources. It adversely influences the social and economic values necessary for a healthy society. I believe that the Federal Government must act without fail to insure that the States have the resources and are provided the incentives immediately to meet this tragic problem. TITLE V—EXPANSION AND IMPROVEMENT OF VOCATIONAL AND SPECIAL EDUCATION To meet the challenges of new technology and a dynamic economy, title V of this legislation would authorize the expansion and modernization of the Federal-State vocational education acts and a program to eliminate the educational deficiencies of a significant portion of our adult population. An additional investment in the education of our handicapped children would enable them to lead more productive and satisfying lives in the years ahead. The dramatic breakthrough in scientific knowledge and the evolution of new socioeconomic conditions are matters that concern us as a nation. Right now only about 4 million people a year are being served by vocational education programs, about half of whom are adults. Opportunities are obviously far too limited. In the large cities, where education is very much affected by socioeconomic changes, vocational educational offerings are often inadequate. Only one-fifth of present vocational enrollments are in our largest cities. The panel of consultants who this year studied our national vocational education needs and offerings have stated that in this changing world of work, vocational education must provide up-to-date training opportunities for the more than 20 million noncollege graduates expected to enter the labor market in the 1960's. It must serve the training and retraining needs of millions of workers whose skills and knowledge need updating or whose jobs disappear in the wake of automation and economic change. It must keep abreast of the Nation's need for highly skilled craftsmen by expanding post-high-school education and training opportunities. It must be capable of constant expansion and revision to reflect changing employment possibilities and national economic needs. We are concerned also about the 6 million handicapped school-age children in this country who are in need of special education. These include children who are blind or partially blind, or deaf, or have speech impairments, or who are crippled or have other special health problems, or who are emotionally disturbed or mentally retarded. 94173-63 Almost all these children can be helped to live normal lives. But they can be helped only if they have very special teachers-teachers with the kind of professional preparation that will enable them to understand the effects of the child's deviation upon his learning and to know how to help him. Of the 6 million handicapped children, about 12 million are mentally retarded, and another 112 million have very serious social or emotional problems which interfere with their learning. Their talents, which in some cases are unusual, are hidden away, their abilities submerged, their promise blighted. For these children, about 200,000 special teachers are needed, but only 50,000 to 60,000 are now available. Only 2,000 degrees in special education were granted during 1959-60. By 1968, only about onethird of the Nation's handicapped children will have access to needed special educational training opportunities. TITLE VI-EXPANSION OF CONTINUING EDUCATION Finally, this legislation would extend the rich benefits of education to all our population who wish to use them: to the millions of adult Americans who require additional educational opportunities to remedy the lack of formal education in childhood, to all those who need to keep abreast of the revolutionary changes in knowledge in order to perform their jobs well in today's highly specialized and professionalized job market, and to all our population who do not now enjoy the numerous benefits of good library services. More than 8 million Americans 25 years of age and older have less than 5 years of schooling; almost 23 million have less than an eighth grade education. Without a foundation in basic education-without the ability to read, write, and do simple arithmetic-these millions of Americans are committed to a future of minimum earnings, recurrent joblessness, dependency, and personal deprivation. Source: U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare based on data appearing The cost to the Nation of this lack of basic education among so large a group is staggering. Here is the "hard core" of the unemployed, supported by public welfare funds and unable to benefit from major Vocational training programs because of the lack of basic education skills. The problem of limited educational attainment is not limited to any particular area or population group. It is nationwide. In New York State the number of adults with less than 5 years of schooling is nearly 800,000; in Illinois it is 365,000; in California, 505,000. In Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio the number exceeds 200,000. It ranges from 100,000 to 200,000 in Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. New York California Persons 25 and Over with Less Than Source: U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare based on 1960 census data supplied by the U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. Our increasingly complex society demands a continuous process of lifelong learning and relearning. An insistent need and demand from the general public has caused many of our State universities and colleges to offer certain courses or kinds of instruction in extension. These offerings have of necessity been limited in number and in scope. The educational opportunities of great numbers of people who are above the usual school age have been limited. Many of these people, because of remoteness from a university campus, cannot attend regular courses or programs. Increasingly, extension courses are becoming an important means for technical workers in an ever-widening range of occupations to upgrade their skills and keep abreast of new developments. Such educational opportunities will obviously have a far-reaching effect on industrial efficiency and the national economy. The fact that it has been necessary for these broad extension programs in general to be self-supporting has seriously limited the extent as well as the adequacy of their service. For the vast majority of Americans, the basic source of continuing cultural and learning opportunities is the public library. Yet 18 million Americans at present have no readily available library services. Some 110 million persons have inadequate library services, and 60 million of these live in urban areas. ADEQUACY OF PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE Source: Preliminary data reported by the State Library Agencies based on their criteria for adequacy of service. The majority of these agencies followed American Library Association standards. "Rural"-area with less than 10,000 population; "Urban area with 10,000 population or more as defined in the Library Services Act regulations. |