Politics

Seeking School Bill Compromise

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

June 13, 2001 / 3:35 PM EDT / CBS

Congressional negotiators Thursday began work on a final compromise on President Bush's education reform plan, but with the House and Senate billions of dollars apart, there was little chance the task would be complete before September.

Mr. Bush had appealed to the Republican-controlled House and the Democrat-led Senate to settle their differences over the legislation before Congress adjourns for the month-long August recess.

The Senate bill …

Authorizes $33 billion

Requires annual state tests in reading and math for children in particular grades. Failing schools get more aid, but if they don't improve, low-income students can use the money to go to other public schools.

Provides more money for charter schools.

Requires schools to develop report cards that show a school's test scores compared to others locally and statewide.

Provides nearly $1 billion per year for next five years to improve reading.

Includes a pilot program that would free seven states and 25 school districts from most restrictions on spending federal funds in return for higher student test scores.
(AP)

But Republican and Democratic leaders in both chambers said it was unlikely they would meet the president's deadline due to the complexity of the measure and disagreements over school funding and other issues.

"The bills passed by the House and Senate have much in common, but some important differences must be resolved," said House Education Committee Chairman John Boehner, an Ohio Republican.

The House and Senate measures would test students each year and hold schools accountable for the results. The main sticking point between the competing versions might be education funding.

The House bill authorizes $23 billion in fiscal 2002 compared to the Senate's estimated $31.6 billion, and Democrats said they would seek a commitment from Mr. Bush to sharply increase spending on low-income schools and classroom construction.

The White House, however, is trying to keep spending under control as estimates of the federal budget surplus shrink because of a slowing economy and decreasing tax revenues.

Besides funding, other aspects of the bills disagree.

As proposed by Mr. Bush during the 2000 presidential campaign, the House and the Senate bills would require annual student testing in reading and mathematics, and require schools, schoo districts and states to demonstrate progress in closing achievement gaps.

Schools that fail to make progress for four consecutive years could face sanctions.

The House and the Senate would also dedicate billions of dollars over the next five years to help children learn to read by the end of the third grade, or about the age of 8 — a signature issue for Mr. Bush during the campaign.

The House Bill…

Authorizes $24 billion.

Provides more money for charter schools.

Requires schools to develop report cards that show a school's test scores compared to others locally and statewide.

Provides nearly $1 billion per year for next five years to improve reading.

Allows school districts to use up to half their federal funds without oversight, while 100 school districts may sign agreements freeing schools from virtually all restrictions on federal funds in exchange for higher scores.

Requires schools to ensure that students are proficient in English after three years of attending school in the United States.

Requires school districts to get parents' consent before placing a child in a program that is not taught primarily in English.
(AP)

Both chambers rejected the president's private-school voucher plan, which would have given students in chronically failing public schools up to $1,500 in federal funding to help them pay for private and religious schooling.

In lieu of vouchers, the House and Senate bills would allow students in failing schools to use federal funding to pay for private tutoring or transfer to other public schools.

But major differences remain.

The Senate bill would give up to seven states and 25 local school districts the authority to spend federal dollars with few restrictions.

House Democrats oppose that program and have instead backed a bipartisan plan allowing local school districts to spend up to half of their federal education dollars on a range of programs without state or federal approval.

The House bill would also reduce the overall number of federal education programs by one-third. The Senate bill would create 34 new programs, Republicans complained.

The enate passed the bill last month after heated debate over an amendment that would punish schools that withdraw support from organizations that discriminate against homosexuals. The measure, prompted by some school districts barring the Boy Scouts from their facilities, passed narrowly.