Romney would greatly expand school choice

Updated 4:30 p.m. ET

(CBS News) Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Wednesday proposed a major change in the government's education policy that would tie federal funds to students and not to schools for the first time and greatly expand school choice.

"I'm going to expand parental choice in an unprecedented way," Romney said to applause at the Latino Coalition's Annual Economic Summit in Washington. "Too many of our kids are trapped in schools that are failing or simply don't meet their needs. And for too long, we've merely talked about the virtues of school choice without really doing something about it."

He said that he would allow parents of low-income and special needs students to choose where their children go to school - a public school outside the geographically assigned area where they live, a charter school or a private or parochial school.

In delivering his remarks, Romney dropped a reference to private schools being covered by his school choice policy, which had been included in speech excerpts distributed by the campaign moments before he started speaking. But his campaign aides told reporters after the speech that he inadvertently left out the private school reference, and that private and parochial schools would be included in the school choice policy.

The money provided by the federal government would only subsidize the school choice however, with only Title 1 or IDEA funds, dollars for low-income students and special education, traveling with the student, unless a state decided pitch in more.

Also, in a conference call with reporters earlier Wednesday, Romney campaign staff said the policy would cover private and parochial schools.

Romney also called for restoring funding for the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, a program created under President George W. Bush that provides scholarships to low-income children in Washington D.C. that can be used at private schools. The program was curtailed under the Obama administration, but Romney said the renewed program would be "a model for parental choice for school systems across the nation. "

Other major proposals in his speech included: A requirement that states provide a simple-to-read and widely available public report card evaluating every school and a proposal to streamline teacher evaluations by consolidating 82 current federal programs in 10 agencies that focus on teacher quality and replacing them with block grants to the states.

Romney also sharply attacked teachers' unions as the biggest impediment to improving the quality of teachers in classrooms. While making a point of praising effective teachers, Romney called the unions most of them belong to "the clearest example of a group that has lost its way."

"The teachers unions don't fight for our children," he said. "That's our job. And our job keeps getting harder because the unions wield outsized influence in elections and campaigns."

Romney argued that President Obama was hamstrung when it came to the issue of education reform because 90 percent of the money given to political campaigns by teachers unions went to Democrats in 2008.

"Most likely, he would have liked to do more," Romney said of Obama. "But the teachers unions are one of the Democrats' biggest donors, and one of the President's biggest campaign supporters. So, President Obama has been unable to stand up to union bosses, and unwilling to stand up for our kids."

Romney told the audience that as governor of Massachusetts, he took a stand against pressure from teachers' unions by getting through the Legislature a bill to require students to pass a test to graduate from high school. The measure was opposed by the unions, he said.

"States are going to be rewarded if they regularly evaluate teachers for their effectiveness and if they compensate the best teachers for teaching success in the classroom," Romney said. "Teaching is a highly valued profession. It's got to attract the best and brightest from around the country."

One of the major teacher's unions, the National Education Association (NEA), responded to Romney's remarks.

"We simply can't afford to put in Romney's hands the future of our students and our country," NEA president Dennis Van Roekel said in a statement. "Attacking educators and unions like the NEA with gross exaggerations about its political muscle and with divide and conquer tactics is a distraction from having to confront the real questions about his education record as governor of Massachusetts and his full embrace of the Ryan-Romney dream-killing budget."

Although Romney painted a grim portrait of the state of education in the country, saying that "millions of kids are getting a Third World education," he insisted that the United States can correct the problems if his conservative ideas are implemented.

"We already have good teachers, and engaged parents, and big ideas," he said. "What we need now is strong political leadership and political will."

The speech marked the presumptive Republican nominee's first major address on education.

[nearl451]

...furthering the decline of any sebmlance of public education.

That is the direction that all of this choice nonsense does. Whoever has the most money buys the best education. Those without any practical choice are stuck with the dregs.

Funny how most of Republican social programs emulate Darwinism.

[leon_foonman]

Now they emulate ignor-ism, like the followers of rock reader Joe Smith

[marychgo]

Surprise, surprise! Romney's education "solutions" are pretty much the same as George Bush's: "choice," vouchers, charter schools, and test everything all the time.

Romney thinks Obama's teachers union campaign contributions mean he can't be as critical of bad teachers as he might like to be.

So what does that say about Romney's campaign contributions from private companies running charter schools, parochial school sponsors, and the ginormous testing industrial complex?

Republicans argue that, thanks to the evil teachers unions, "tenure" means school systems can't fire incompetent teachers. They're wrong. "Tenure" simply guarantees due process for teachers charged with incompetence; it requires administrators to do their jobs and PROVE the teachers they want to fire are incompetent. If you've ever had a lousy boss -- in any field of endeavor -- you know why THAT requirement is a good idea!

Our nation's children need better educational systems, but knee-jerk GOP "free market" solutions offer little that will make them better.

[tafhdyd]

There are a couple of schools in our neighborhood that would be high on parents list to send their kids to if there was a voucher system. There are also several problems why vouchers would not work. What most of the people touting vouchers seem to forget is that these schools are private or parochial and they do not have to take students they don't want. If they do take the kid and he does not fit in, do his work, misbehaves etc. they can throw him out. The two schools I am thinking of also have a 3-4 year wait to get in. One is parochial and you apply and volunteer at the school and church for three years before your child gets in and then you not only pay the $12K/yr tuition, you continue to volunteer X number of hours per month or find someone to do it for you.

That is just a start. The kids that are not doing good in a public school now will most likely not do any better in a private school. The problems are not with the school for the most part, they are with the parents.

[raptor-022]

It's easy to see that romney just wants to trade the teacher's unions for religious intervention, so that the mormon church or catholic church runs the school. That way the republicans can push creationism and the myth of global warming, and leave science on the side of the road.

[Thinkbeforeyouwrite]

Public funds, my taxes and yours, would be used to send kids to private and religious schools, maybe religions that do not accept your faith or my faith as worthy of protection. We would be paying to have some of them indoctrinated to a particular point of view, which would lead to more divisiveness in the country. We will never solve our problems if that happens. I had religious education (which my parents paid extra for) for 50% of my schooling and public the rest of the time. That was years ago before the more bizarre and extreme viewpoints were prevalent in this country. I shudder to think what some schools might teach their students.

[Thinkbeforeyouwrite]

Mortar29.....: I'm in public schools weekly on a volunteer basis and I do not see those extreme or bizarre things. Granted it is an elementary school. People should spend more time in the schools. See what is going on. It is not at all scary. But if someone thinks Harry Potter is teaching witchcraft, then their thinking is a bit off, and I do not know what to do with that kind of paranoia.

[leon_foonman]

But Romney said you will like it

[hypnotoad72]

Given that a lot of colleges hand out easy "A" grades and they sure as heck aren't unionized, let's discuss the FULL issue of education, Mr. Romney. Are you game? Or is this just a game to you, with your followers as the pawns?

[MaySunBrand]

Republicans are destroying Education through their Tea Party Governors.

Gutting teachers, salaries, closing schools and national student test scores are terrible because of it.

Republican self-serving agenda leading to our countrys George W. Bush Great Recession.

Mitt Romney wants to retro our country back to the days of George W. Bush narrative.

The self-destructing George W. Bush domestic infrastructure lead to the housing market collapse, Wall Street melt down, aftermath of Katrina leaving millions of people without water, food, shelter and many are still in trailers because W. retracted funding on our countrys infrastructure so he could invade Iraq.

The bad thing that Axelrod can not undo is the ignorant, uneducated stupidity of the birthers, Tea Bag Party members, KKK, John Birch Society, The Koch Brothers, Karl Rove, Rush Limbaugh and Aryan Brotherhood and outlaw motor cycle gangs linked to the gun trade and the NRA.

[hypnotoad72]

Agreed.

Also,

http://www.good.is/post/american-teachers-do-more-work-for-less-pay-than-their-international-peers/

The URL speaks for itself.

Most stat sites I've read show teacher salaries being under $50k and they are easy to find...

Worst of all, you forgot Ayn Rand in that gaggle of folks:

http://www.alternet.org/teaparty/149721/ayn_rand_railed_against_government_benefits,_but_grabbed_social_security_and_medicare_when_she_needed_them/?page=1

Oops, wrong article:

http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/middle_class.html
(she even disses the "job creators" in those passages!)

[leon_foonman]

But Faux Nooz says that Extremism is the new "normal"....and if you don't like it, Sean Hannity will make up stuff about you and call you a traitor, when he's not busy stealing from Veteran's Charities that is...

[hsinco-2009]

Code for school vouchers for madrassas.

[Zann-Zel]

And how many scams will there be where the kids are sent to a "school", this "school" collects their government money but the kids get little or No education?

[retm-w]

Barry

Sure the graduation rate is 98% when you just hand out diplomas and don't require passing grades.

[hypnotoad72]

B-b-i:

Your response does not answer Zann-Zel's question.

[TimeToEvolve]

Robmee is the lowest form of human life. Worst of all, our failed predatory American business model actually puts slimewads like Mitler in positions of power.

By the way, read "expand school choice" as the Republicon scam of privatizing our country for increased corporate profit, something that has already failed miserably.

[leon_foonman]

Don't you mean "Raw Money"?
We could all go to Brigham Young and learn about how Jesus is from outer space and was the leader of the Cherokee nation before Joe Smith found the golden what-ever they are called, and then claimed he misplaced them, all while shoving his head in to a hat full of rocks that told him it was cool to have like 50 wives....