Education

A Paper for Every Position

February 14, 2001 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Here’s what some prominent think tanks and education groups are recommending to President Bush and the new Congress:

Cato Institute, “Cato Handbook for Congress”: “Congress should get out of the education business and return what it spends to taxpayers in the form of a tax cut.”

Synopsis: Abolish the Department of Education. The institute argues that the federal role in education is unconstitutional.


Center on Education Policy, “An Education Agenda for the Congress and the New Administration” (requires Adobe’s Acrobat Reader): "[T]his is the time to reach bipartisan agreement on the federal role in education. Each side will have to compromise the Democrats will have to agree to merge many current programs, and the Republicans will have to agree to put aside tuition vouchers for private schools.”

Synopsis: Demand greater accountability for federal funds, but not just more testing; double Title I funding; consolidate Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) programs into fewer categories; reject vouchers, but call for a National Forum on Public and Private Education to explore issues of mutual concern.


Democratic Leadership Council/Progressive Policy Institute, “10 Big Ideas: A New Democrat Agenda for Governing”: “A consensus about the need for additional investment and the need to use federal dollars to leverage results-based accountability at the local level sets up a potential ‘grand bargain’ on ESEA reauthorization.”

Synopsis: Consolidate ESEA programs into five performance-based grants in exchange for more accountability; double ESEA spending; increase targeting to disadvantaged schools and students.


Education Leaders Council,“From Good Intentions to Good Results: Transforming Federal Education Policy” (requires Adobe’s Acrobat Reader): “Instead of emphasizing formulas, procedures, inputs, rules, and compliance, federal policy should be obsessed with how much and how well our children are learning, particularly the least advantaged and most vulnerable among them.”

Synopsis: Make Title I aid “portable,” following low-income children to their schools of choice; consolidate ESEA programs in exchange for improved student performance; allow states further flexibility in return for entering a performance contract with the Education Department; move Head Start to the Education Department.


Heritage Foundation, “Priorities for the President”: “Although education is and always will be a state and local responsibility, the federal government can plan an important role in motivating states and local communities to innovate and implement education reforms that will boost academic achievement.”

Synopsis: Make Title I aid “portable"; consolidate ESEA programs in exchange for accountability; offer states broader flexibility in return for entering into “contracts” with the Education Department; create independent agency for education research.


National Education Association, “The Opportunity To Excel”: "[E]nsuring that every child has a qualified, caring teacher in a classroom environment that maximizes learning should be the top priority for the Bush administration and the 107th Congress.”

Synopsis: Fully fund Title I (nearly tripling spending); create initiative giving states flexible aid to help poor-performing schools; provide $3 billion a year for teacher-quality programs; offer assistance for school modernization; help states provide universal preschool; provide federal funding to pay 40 percent of special education costs.


Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, “Education 2001: Getting the Job Done”: “Fund children, not institutions. ... By building all its education programs atop this principle, the federal government will also foster the growth of innovative schools and diverse educational arrangements, such as charter schools, which are hobbled and weakened by current funding formulas.”

Synopsis: Consolidate ESEA programs into six separate state grants while demanding more accountability. Double Title I expenditures and make the money “portable.” Allow states further flexibility in exchange for entering a performance agreement with the Education Department. Create a new, independent education research agency.

A version of this article appeared in the February 14, 2001 edition of Education Week as A Paper for Every Position

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Mathematics Webinar
Pave the Path to Excellence in Math
Empower your students' math journey with Sue O'Connell, author of “Math in Practice” and “Navigating Numeracy.”
Content provided by hand2mind
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Recruitment & Retention Webinar
Combatting Teacher Shortages: Strategies for Classroom Balance and Learning Success
Learn from leaders in education as they share insights and strategies to support teachers and students.
Content provided by DreamBox Learning
Classroom Technology K-12 Essentials Forum Reading Instruction and AI: New Strategies for the Big Education Challenges of Our Time
Join the conversation as experts in the field explore these instructional pain points and offer game-changing guidance for K-12 leaders and educators.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: September 20, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education From Our Research Center What's on the Minds of Educators, in Charts
Politics, gender equity, and technology—how teachers and administrators say these issues are affecting the field.
1 min read
Stylized illustration of a pie chart
Traci Daberko for Education Week
Education Briefly Stated: August 30, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: August 23, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read