WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- House and Senate education conference committee members delivered to President Bush on Wednesday a sweeping education reform package that for the first time will link academic achievement of millions of American students to the amount of federal dollars their schools receive each year.
"We were able to report to the president tonight that we have finished our work except for the votes in the House and Senate on the No. 1 domestic priority," said Sen. Zell Miller, D-Ga.
"I think we were able to report the president that we have the most dramatic, far-reaching reforms in federal education in the last 30 years. And we were able to report to him that we met his goals and his requirements for this legislation," Miller said.
Accompanied by U.S. Department of Education Secretary Rod Paige, lawmakers said when students return to schools in September 2002 they will see a new sense of mission, and "an entirely new attitude" on the part of administrators to make certain every child receives a good education.
Students attending the nation's 3,000 underperforming schools will be entitled to supplemental services such as tutoring, after-school programs or summer school.
"We're not saying we have a quick-fix solution to challenges of improving quality education for children, but what we have and what we believe will be ratified is a tough-minded approach that will make a difference as it is implemented over the next 12 years," said Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
The bill was one of the cornerstones of Bush's domestic agenda that he unveiled in the first week after assuming office.
First, the measure was stalled as the House and Senate could not agree on how much to spend on education. Then, as with many other items on the president's domestic agenda, the education bill was shoved to the back burner after the events of Sept. 11 drew lawmakers' attention toward moving through anti-terrorism legislation. But with the bulk of that work behind them, lawmakers were able to refocus on items topping Bush's list of legislative priorities.
If passed by the full Congress, the bill will increase the accountability of the nation's schools and require annual testing for children in grades three through eight in reading and math. The bill would provide about $1 billion aimed at ensuring all children read by the third grade.
Conferees agreed to require states to have "highly qualified" teachers in every classroom within five years. They also agreed on a program consolidating bilingual education and providing funding to help students with limited English language skills become proficient within three years.
"The commitment in this legislation is that at the end of 12 years every child in America will reach the level of proficiency," Kennedy said. "That's a long time from now, but we accept that there's no simple, easy answers. We know you have to have a well-qualified teacher in every classroom. I know you have to have good curriculum. You know that curriculum has to be based on sound educational principles for that particular grade. You know there has to be effective evaluation.
"When children are falling behind, there has to be help for those children. And there has to be strong accountability for the student, the schools and the parents," Kennedy said.
National Education Association President Bob Chase called the federal education bill "a tremendous disappointment" and said that while it set out noble goals to raise student achievement and increase accountability, it failed to deliver the support required to help children achieve higher standards.
"We will not oppose the bill, but we cannot in good conscience support it. We can only hope that House and Senate appropriators can relieve some of the burden states face," Chase said after the conference committee came to agreement.
The bill gives states 12 years to establish a minimum level of proficiency on examination and make progress in bringing student up to that standard. The bill gives underperforming schools extra federal funding as they develop a plan for improvement, but gives its students the option of transferring to a better public school.
Conferees also agreed to deny federal funds to local school districts that prevent or deny participation in constitutionally protected school prayer or discriminate against, or deny equal access, to any group affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America. It gives the nation's armed forces' recruiters the same access to high school students that college recruiters and job recruiters have, and asks schools to develop policies that allow teachers to maintain control of the classroom so that students can learn.
