EDUCATION REFORM

President Bush and Republicans are working to close the achievement gap between disadvantaged students and their peers

October 10, 2002

For 35 years, Washington spent billions on education without insisting on results for our children.
President Bush and the 107^th Congress brought that era to an end.

Republicans are focusing on accountability & results. We want to:

Ø Ensure every child reads by the third grade
Ø Give parents more information and options about their children’s education

Republicans are focusing on the classroom. We want to:

Ø Help states and schools put a qualified teacher in every public classroom
Ø Give teachers and principals the tools to meet the unique needs of every child

In just 22 months, President Bush and Republicans:

Ø Gave parents report cards on school performance.
Ø Gave teachers tax relief for out-of-pocket classroom expenses.
Ø Sent more dollars to the classroom, with fewer strings attached.
Ø Reformed federal K-12 education programs, requiring accountability for results through annual testing to ensure all children are learning.
Ø Provided extra help for schools identified as underachieving.
Ø Shielded teachers, principals and school board members from frivolous lawsuits.
Ø Gave new options to parents with children in dangerous or chronically underachieving public schools.
Ø Streamlined federal K-12 education programs from 55 to 45.
Ø Transformed bilingual education programs to focus on helping LEP children learn English.
Ø Tripled funding for reading programs proven to work.
Ø Increased federal teacher quality aid by 35 percent over last Clinton budget.
Ø Boosted aid to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs).
Ø Dramatically increased funding for special education.

Passed by House Republicans; awaiting action by Democrat-controlled Senate:

Ø Boost student loan forgiveness from $5,000 to $17,500 for Americans who become school teachers.
Ø Give educators new tools by improving education research.

Blocked by congressional Democrats:

Ø Give low-income parents an above-the-line tax deduction for K-12 educational expenses.
Ø Reduce red tape in higher education for students and colleges.