Senate Republicans Put Education on Their Agenda

The new chairman of the Senate education committee made clear last week that he aims to catch up on an array of overdue bills to reauthorize education laws, from Head Start to vocational education to the Higher Education Act, as well as focus new attention on issues such as reducing high school dropout rates.

Sen. Michael B. Enzi of Wyoming and other Republican leaders in the chamber gathered Jan. 24 to announce their top 10 legislative priorities for 2005, with a catchall education bill ranking ninth in the lineup, at least by its bill number.

The same day, leading Senate Democrats outlined their own top issues, proposing to boost federal education aid, improve implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, and offer tuition incentives for college students who teach in high-need fields, including mathematics,...