Melissa Hart on Education

The substitute's opponents say:
• I feel it is not totally the Federal Government's responsibility to provide for all of higher education. The substitute has three critical flaws.
• 1.The name itself, "Reverse the Raid on Student Aid." Don't believe the hype. Not one student in America will receive less financial aid under our bill. Not one.
• 2. This amendment does not retain the $6,000 maximum Pell Grant award that our legislation has. In fact, they stay with the same old $5,800 maximum award.
• 3. It says that we are going to have a 3.4% interest rate for 1 year that is going to cost $2.7 billion, but it has no offsets whatsoever. How do they pay for it? They don't tell us.

Voted YES on allowing school prayer during the War on Terror.

Voted YES on requiring states to test students.

Let schools display the words "God Bless America".

Title: Expressing the sense of the Congress that public schools may display the words "God Bless America" as an expression of support for the Nation.

Supports requiring schools to allow prayer.

H.R.1, S.73:

No DOE funds shall be available to any educational agency which prevents participation in constitutionally protected prayer in public schools by individuals on a voluntary basis. No educational agency shall require any person to participate in prayer or influence the form or content of any constitutionally protected prayer in such public schools.

Expressing the sense of the Congress that prayers and invocations at public school sporting events contribute to the moral foundation of our Nation and urging the Supreme Court to uphold their constitutionality.

Recognizing the authority of public schools to allow students to exercise their constitutional rights by establishing a period of time for silent prayer or meditation or reflection, encouraging the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, and refusing to discriminate against individuals or groups on account of their religious character or speech.

Proposed Legislation:
• H.J.RES. 54, Students' Rights Resolution of 2001, 6/21/2001 (Smith (TX), Rahall, Hall (TX), Hilleary, Barr (GA), Souder, Smith (NJ), Buyer)
• S. 73, Voluntary School Prayer Protection Act, 1/22/2001 (Helms)
• H.R.1, No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Boehner, et. al.)

Focus educational resources to help those with greatest need.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) helps to fulfill the most basic mission of federal education programs—equal opportunity for all children. To help improve the federal role in education, the Republican Main Street Partnership has identified the following areas that should receive priority during the reauthorization of IDEA:

• Focus resources to help those with the greatest need, particularly the disadvantaged and disabled
• Target Title I funds, those specifically designed to aid disadvantaged students, to students with the greatest need
• Although Title I funds are already allocated according to population and poverty, more funds must be targeted to our neediest schools. We propose funding, for the first time, grants that send at least a portion of Title I funds solely on the basis of need.
• Increase the maximum award under Pell Grants to help first-generation & low-income students continue their education
• Increase the maximum award for students from low-income families to restore the balance between grants and loans, particularly among those with the greatest need.
• Continue efforts to increase federal funding for IDEA to help states and locals offset the cost of providing a ëfree appropriate public educationí for students with special needs
• Move federal funding toward its goal of providing up to 40 percent of the average cost of educating a disabled child.
• In addition, we need to better evaluate the effectiveness of this program and ensure that federal funds for IDEA—particularly in light of recent funding increases—are being targeted to our students with real learning disabilities.
• Finally and most important, any fiscal incentives must be examined to ensure that the overidentification of learning disabled students is prevented, and our efforts must focus on the regular evaluation of the program to ensure that our special needs children are truly being provided a "free appropriate public education."

Require state standards, regular assessments, and sanctions.

To help improve the federal role in education, the Republican Main Street Partnership has identified the following areas that should receive priority:
• Require states to implement high standards of achievement in core subject areas, such as reading, math, writing, and science, for all students.
  Nearly all states have established high standards for education content in reading, writing and math. To continue to be eligible for Title I funds, we must ensure that states meet these standards.

• Require states to demonstrate success in raising the performance of all students -- from those who score below basic to those who are already proficient -- and narrowing the gap between disadvantaged students and their more advantaged peers.
  Without regular assessments, we cannot determine how well students are achieving with respect to each state's performance goals. Although states are required to have assessments aligned with their content and performance standards by the 2000-2001 school year, it now seems that no state will be approved in time. To continue to be eligible for Title I funds, states must continue to work toward this goal and waivers must be provided only for those who are making substantial progress toward the implementation of their aligned assessments.

• Establish a meaningful system of rewards for schools that significantly increase student achievement and sanctions for those that fail.
  Schools that consistently fail to make progress toward their stateís own performance goals, after assistance and opportunity to improve, must be sanctioned with corrective actions ranging from the reconstitution of the school staff to the authorization of students to transfer to another public school. Schools that meet or exceed their performance goals should receive monetary awards through a new grant program designed to reward achievement.

Support Ed-Flex: more flexibility if more accountable.

To help improve the federal role in education, the Republican Main Street Partnership has identified the following areas that should receive priority:
• Provide flexibility in exchange for increased accountability.

• Encourage more states to take advantaged of the Education-Flexibility waiver to better align federal programs with state and local priorities.

• Currently, 15 states have Ed-Flex authority and, according to GAO reports, the waiver authority promotes a climate that encourages state and local educators to explore new approaches to education. Ultimately, the states must make the decision to apply for the waiver, but education leaders must encourage states and schools to be innovative in their approach to education improvement.

• Enact new legislation to give states the option to combine education programs and funding in exchange for demonstrated improvements in student achievement at all levels

• In exchange for new flexibility, a participating state would have to show how it would combine and use funds to advance education priorities, improve student achievement and narrow the learning gap. If, after three years, the state has failed to meet its own requirements, the flexibility authority would be terminated and administrative funds would be withheld.

Tax deductions for private scholarships to public schools.

OFFICIAL CONGRESSIONAL SUMMARY: To allow an income tax credit for amounts contributed to charitable organizations which provide elementary or secondary school scholarships and for contributions for instructional materials and materials for extracurricular activities.

SPONSOR'S INTRODUCTORY REMARKS: Rep. PAUL: This act, a companion to my Family Education Freedom Act, takes a further step toward returning control over education resources to private citizens by providing a $3,000 tax credit for donations to scholarship funds to enable low-income children to attend private schools. It also encourages private citizens to devote more of their resources to helping public schools, by providing a $3,000 tax credit for cash or in-kind donations to public schools to support academic or extra curricular programs.

Many of those who share my belief that the most effective education reform is to put parents back in charge of the education system have embraced government-funded voucher programs as a means to that end. I certainly sympathize with the goals of voucher proponents, but supporters of parental control of education should view Federal voucher programs with a high degree of skepticism because vouchers are a creation of the government, not the market. Vouchers are a taxpayer-funded program benefiting a particular group of children selected by politicians and bureaucrats. Therefore, the Federal voucher program supported by many conservatives is little more than another tax-funded welfare program establishing an entitlement to a private school education. Vouchers thus raise the same constitutional and moral questions as other transfer programs. A superior way of improving education is to return control of the education dollar directly to the American people through tax cuts and tax credits.

LEGISLATIVE OUTCOME:Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means; never came to a vote.

Rated 17% by the NEA, indicating anti-public education votes.

The National Education Association has a long, proud history as the nation's leading organization committed to advancing the cause of public education. Founded in 1857 "to elevate the character and advance the interests of the profession of teaching and to promote the cause of popular education in the United States," the NEA has remained constant in its commitment to its original mission as evidenced by the current mission statement:

To fulfill the promise of a democratic society, the National Education Association shall promote the cause of quality public education and advance the profession of education; expand the rights and further the interest of educational employees; and advocate human, civil, and economic rights for all.

Supported funding for teacher training & other initiatives.

The teams of the Women’s Caucus are charged with advancing action on their designated issues in a bipartisan manner. Legislation from Team 4. EDUCATION
• HR455—Teacher Technology Training Act of 1999—A bill to provide grants to local education agencies to provide integrated classroom-related computer training for elementary and secondary school teachers. (Capps)
• HR645—Teacher Technology Training Act of 1999—A bill to require states to incorporate technology requirements in teacher training content and performance standards. (Morella)
• HR1307—After-School Children’s Education (ACE) Act—A bill to provide for grants, a national clearinghouse of information and a GAO report on the quality and availability of after school programs. (Castle)
• HR1129—A bill to remove the 60 month limitation for taking a tax deduction of student loan interest. (Mink)
• HR1456—A bill to improve the National Writing Project program. (Miller-CA)
• HR637—Gifted and Talented Students Education Act of 1999—A bill to make improvements and expand the gifted and talented program. (Gallegly)

The Caucus has also identified the following as priority areas:
• School Construction Funding
• Alternative Teacher Certification
• School Violence
• Support of Title I of ESEA
• Gender Equity in Education
• School Counselors