Kaine, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Expand Federal Support for Magnet Schools

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, alongside Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) introduced the Magnet Schools Accessibility, Growth, and Nonexclusionary Enrollment Transformation (MAGNET) Act , legislation to fuel the growth of magnet schools nationwide by improving and expanding the federal Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP). “Every student deserves an education that helps them reach their full potential, regardless of their background or their ZIP code,” said Kaine. “Magnet schools bring kids from many different communities together, giving them valuable opportunities to learn from one another and explore their interests. I’m proud to support this legislation to expand access to magnet schools and help both new and existing programs build diverse classrooms in Virginia and across the country.” Magnet schools are public schools designed to cater to different learning styles and attract a wide range of students from different racial and socioeconomic backgrounds, and across ZIP codes. Over 3.5 million students nationwide currently attend magnet schools. The MAGNET Act would help counter a growing national trend of segregation by race and income in school districts by updating the MSAP grant to expand access to funding and promote diversity. The bill would also authorize the Supplemental Diversity Grant, a new grant program to be housed under MSAP to help preexisting magnet programs reach diversity-related goals. The MAGNET Act is led in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representative Joe Courtney (D-CT-2). Full text of the legislation is available here .