Comments2000Republicans

Real Education Reform: Strengthening Accountability and Empowering Parents

"No child in America should be segregated by low expectations . . . imprisoned by illiteracy . . . abandoned to frustration and the darkness of self-doubt." — George W. Bush

//I find it hard to believe he had anything to do with that quote… some speechwriter did a good job.//

The question is "Are our schools better off now than they were eight years ago?" At a time of remarkable economic growth, when a world of opportunity awaits students who are prepared for it, American colleges and universities are offering remedial courses and American businesses are unable to find enough qualified or trainable workers to meet the demand. Worst of all, so many of our children, America’s most precious asset, are headed toward failure in school, and that will hold them back throughout their lives. //Yes!!! Students deserve to succeed.// Republicans desire a better result. We believe that every child in this land should have access to a high quality, indeed, a world-class education, and we’re determined to meet that goal.

It’s long past time to debate what works in education. The verdict is in, and our Republican governors provided the key testimony: strong parental involvement, excellent teachers, safe and orderly classrooms, high academic standards, and a commitment to teaching the basics — from an early start in phonics to mastery of computer technology. //I find a conflict between “high academic standards” and “a commitment to teaching the basics.” For me, high academic standards means constructivist learning where students think critically and ponder the core issues of a discipline. “Teaching the basics” has the opposite connotation. It makes me think that students don’t get to see the core ideas until they perfect the mechanics.// Federal programs that fail to support these fundamental principles are sadly out of date and, under the next president, out of time. For dramatic and swift improvement, we endorse the principles of Governor Bush’s education reforms, which will:


 * Raise academic standards through increased local control and accountability to parents, shrinking a multitude of federal programs into five flexible grants in exchange for real, measured progress in student achievement
 * Assist states in closing the achievement gap and empower needy families to escape persistently failing schools by allowing federal dollars to follow their children to the school of their choice. //I’m not sure about their logic here. If we allow some parents to take their children out of failing schools, aren’t we leaving the children of other parents “behind” at these same schools?//
 * Expand parental choice and encourage competition by providing parents with information on their child’s school, increasing the number of charter schools, and expanding education savings accounts for use from kindergarten through college.
 * Help states ensure school safety by letting children in dangerous schools transfer to schools that are safe for learning and by forcefully prosecuting youths who carry or use guns and the adults who provide them. //Again, and leave other students in these schools? Don’t we want to make these schools safe? It sounds like some students would get left behind at these schools.//
 * Ensure that all children learn to read by reforming Head Start and by facilitating state reading initiatives that focus on scientifically based reading research, including phonics. //Okay, yes, early literacy initiatives have the best track record for making a difference.//

Nothing is more important than literacy, and yet many children have trouble reading. This problem must be addressed at all grade levels. And as is so often the case in education, the solution is parent and child working together with teachers to help break a cycle of illiteracy that may have extended from generation to generation. We want to replace that pattern with the rich legacy of reading. //Okay, but what does this look like? And how do “we” do it?//

We recognize that under the American constitutional system, education is a state, local, and family responsibility, not a federal obligation. Since over 90 percent of public school funding is state and local, not federal, it is obvious that state and local governments must assume most of the responsibility to improve the schools, and the role of the federal government must be progressively limited as we return control to parents, teachers, and local school boards. Programs beginning the process by congressional Republicans to return power to the people, such as "Straight As" legislation and "Dollars to the Classroom" are a good step to reach this goal. The Republican Congress rightly opposed attempts by the Department of Education to establish federal testing that would set the stage for a national curriculum. //States (and SCHOOLS) should have the final word over the information/content standards. I think it would be worth exploring national procedural/process standards. We believe it’s time to test the Department, and each of its programs, instead.//

Over thirty years ago, the federal government assumed a special financial responsibility to advance the education of disadvantaged children through the Title I program. Today, $120 billion later, the achievement gap between those youngsters and their peers has only widened. The fiscal loss is not a good thing, but the human loss is tragic. We cannot allow another generation of kids to be written off. For dramatic and swift improvement, we endorse Governor Bush’s principles of local control, with accountability, parental choice, and meaningful student achievement as essential to education reform. //Fair enough. There is a logical connection with local control/accountability. This is more or less the empowerment school model – increased school-level control of professional development in exchange for increased accountability. The small school movement is a way of giving both parents and students choice within the public school system.//

Qualified teachers are the vanguard of education reform. With mastery of their subjects, a contagious enthusiasm for learning, and a heartfelt commitment to their students, they can make any school great. //Well, I agree with this.// That is why we advocate merit pay for them and expanded opportunities for professional development. I remain nervous about how this would be determined. Today, however, many teachers face danger and disrespect in the classroom, and their efforts to maintain order are hampered by the threat of litigation. We propose special legal protection for teachers to shield them from meritless lawsuits. We advocate a zero-tolerance policy toward all students who disrupt the classroom and we reaffirm that school officials must have the right and responsibility to appropriately discipline all students, including students with disabilities, who are disruptive or violent. Toward the same end, we will encourage faith-based and community organizations to take leading roles in after-school programs that build character and improve behavior. //Again, I think there’s a huge gap of logic between the identified problem and the proposed solution.// We propose to improve teacher training and recruiting by expanding the Troops-to-Teachers program, which places retired military personnel in the classroom, and by rewarding states that enact a system for teacher accountability. //I remain unconvinced that this proposal would necessarily improve teacher training.// We will expand teacher loan-forgiveness to encourage qualified candidates to serve in high-need schools. As a matter of fairness, we will establish a teacher tax deduction to help defray the out-of-pocket teaching expenses so many good home, private, and public school teachers make to benefit their students. //Both of these ideas are okay.//

Local responsibility for neighborhood schools has been the key to successful education since the days of the little red schoolhouse. We salute congressional Republicans for their continuing efforts, through Ed-Flex and other initiatives, to shift decision-making away from the federal bureaucracy and back to localities. We strongly endorse Governor Bush’s proposal to consolidate cumbersome categorical programs into flexible performance grants, targeting resources to the classroom and tying them directly to student achievement. That is real reform. //How is performance measured – by improvement or by cut-off scores? I continue to view merit pay or school level recognition as easily abused.//

In the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Congress required that every community in the country provide a free and appropriate education for all students with special needs and fund their schooling at higher levels. In return, the federal government promised to pay 40 percent of the average per pupil expenditure to cover the excess costs. During all the years the Democrats controlled Congress that was not done. It was congressional Republicans who took the first real strides toward fulfillment of the IDEA promise. We applaud them for recognizing that federal mandates must include federal funding. We will strive to promote the early diagnosis of learning deficiencies. Preventive efforts in early childhood should reduce the demand for special education and help many youngsters move beyond the need for IDEA’s protections.

In the final analysis, education remains a parental right and responsibility. We advocate choice in education, not as an abstract theory, but as the surest way for families, especially low-income families, to free their youngsters from failing or dangerous schools and put them onto the road to opportunity and success. Okay, I still don’t understand why the choice can’t be between different PUBLIC schools. By the same token, we defend the option for home schooling and call for vigilant enforcement of laws designed to protect family rights and privacy in education. Children should not be compelled to answer offensive or intrusive questionnaires. //I’m not sure what they are referring to? We will continue to work for the return of voluntary school prayer to our schools and will strongly enforce the Republican legislation that guarantees equal access to school facilities by student religious groups. Constitution anyone? Separation of Church and State? Anyone? Anyone? Buller? Buller?// We strongly support voluntary student-initiated prayer in school without governmental interference. We strongly disagree with the Supreme Court’s recent ruling, backed by the current administration, against student-initiated prayer. Are they just pandering to the religious right or is there some kind of educational issue that I can’t see here?

Higher Education: Increased Access For All

One of the most profound changes in American society in the last half-century was the opening of post-secondary education to virtually everyone. Competition among institutions has been the key to that success. How so? Based on what evidence? What began with the GI Bill in the 1940s has now, through student loans and grants, become the best higher education system in the world. Ours is a system in which achievement can count for more than money or social status. Americans are rightly proud of that. Now the challenges we face in the technological revolution and in the global economy require us to continue to expand the extent and excellence of higher education.

That is why both Governor Bush and congressional Republicans have given priority to programs that increase access to higher education for qualified students. The centerpiece of this effort has been education savings accounts — the ideal combination of minimal red tape and maximum consumer choice. Along with that innovation, congressional Republicans passed legislation to allow tax-free distributions from state pre-paid tuition plans, enhance the tax deduction for student loans, and make it more practicable for employers to provide educational assistance to train workers. Unfortunately, that legislation was vetoed. Next year, a Republican president will sign it into law. //Did this happen? I know there’s some kind of tuition law.//

Meanwhile, under Republican fiscal discipline, interest rates on federally guaranteed student loans are lower than ever before so student aspirations can reach higher than ever before. Pell Grants, the doorway to learning for millions of low-income families, are greater than ever — and will become a dynamic force in math, science, and technology when a Republican Congress enacts Governor Bush’s proposal to:


 * Target increased benefits to students taking challenging course in those fields.
 * Form partnerships with colleges and universities to improve science and math education.
 * Attract science, math, and engineering grads to low-income schools and areas with shortages of those teachers.

Overall college costs, however, continue to climb, usually far ahead of inflation. Whatever the reasons, these costs squeeze the budgets of the middle class. Many families feel they’re on a treadmill, working harder to pay tuition bills that never stop rising. We call upon campus administrators to search for ways to hold down that price spiral; and, in fairness to them, we propose a presidentially directed study on the effect of government regulation and paperwork demands.

At many institutions of higher learning, the ideal of academic freedom is threatened by intolerance. Students should not be compelled to support, through mandatory student fees, anyone’s political agenda. The Republican party stands in solidarity with the dedicated faculty who are penalized for their conservatism and also with the courageous students who run independent campus newspapers to confront the powerful with the power of truth. To protect the nation’s colleges and universities against intolerance, we will work with independent educators to maintain alternatives to ideological accrediting bodies. We also support a reasonable approach to Title IX that seeks to expand opportunities for women without adversely affecting men's teams. //I couldn’t take this last paragraph seriously. I read the last sentence as “we vow to do as little as possible to promote women’s athletics without getting into legal trouble.”//