01-22-2000

EDUCATION: Party Divisions May Deepen Over School Reform

The philosophical tug-of-war over the federal role in school reform will
probably intensify during this election year, with bills to overhaul aid
programs for elementary and secondary schools dominating the congressional
education agenda and President Clinton touting school construction and
other hot-button budget issues.


Legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act will
be the major battleground. Republicans favor block grants and more local
control over federal funds, while Democrats are fiercely protective of
programs targeting aid to the neediest students. "This bill will
attract a lot of emotion," said Joe Karpinski, spokesman for the
Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.


The Senate panel plans to take up the ESEA legislation early this session.
Chairman James M. Jeffords, R-Vt., circulated a draft outline of the bill
in December, and Karpinski said that members are seeking common ground on
several matters before the panel deliberates in a formal meeting.


Bipartisanship will be a crucial goal as Senators craft the complex
legislation, as it was when the House drew up and passed its bill (H.R. 2)
to renew a major section of ESEA known as Title I. Title I is the nation's
largest federal program for disadvantaged students in kindergarten through
12th grade.


The Title I reauthorization was one of several ESEA-related bills that the
House approved in October. House education leaders plan to spend much of
this year addressing the law's remaining provisions, including family
literacy and school technology initiatives.


Although bipartisanship helped form the House's Title I bill, it failed to
shield it from partisan fights over divisive amendments. Those battles
will probably re-emerge as the Senate considers its version, which is
expected to address Title I and all other ESEA sections in one bill. For
example, "we will see vouchers again this year," predicted Jim
Manley, spokesman for Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, the ranking
Democrat on the HELP Committee.


During last year's House debates on the Title I bill, Republicans offered
amendments allowing states to use federal money for vouchers to help poor
families afford private school. Yet many of their GOP colleagues-citing
the need for bipartisanship, as well as the likelihood that vouchers would
draw a presidential veto-joined Democrats in rejecting those riders.
Clinton and most Democrats contend that vouchers would drain vital
resources from public schools while helping only a few students transfer
to private schools.


GOP leaders have not touted vouchers as a high priority lately, but they
will probably find other ways to promote "school choice." House
Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., announced this month that House
Republicans will revive their push for tax-free education savings accounts
to help families pay for school expenses or tuition.


But this year's loudest GOP battle cry will be for more block grants to
give states more discretion in how they spend federal education dollars.
The House moved in that direction late last year, when it approved the
Straight A's bill (H.R. 2300), a five-year demonstration program allowing
states to receive their federal K-12 school money without strings to any
of the traditional regulations or programs.


Senate leaders are undecided whether to include a Straight A's provision
in their ESEA bill, but the Clinton Administration has threatened a veto
because Straight A's would not require states to funnel federal money to
the neediest students.


The Administration has also threatened to veto a GOP-favored teacher
quality bill (H.R. 1995), because it fails to guarantee funds for
Clinton's initiative to help states hire 100,000 teachers over seven
years. More than 30,000 teachers have been hired over the past two years
as part of that program, which received $1.3 billion in fiscal
2000.


Clinton plans to request $1.3 billion in fiscal 2001 for a new program to
provide grants and interest-free loans to help needy communities repair
dilapidated school buildings. The President will also propose spending
$3.7 billion over five years on tax-credit bonds to help schools finance
construction projects.


In that vein, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Archer,
R-Texas, declared school construction a top priority in a "future tax
relief package." Archer noted that last year's tax relief package,
which Clinton vetoed, included a $1.4 billion bond initiative for school
construction.


At a Glance: Elementary, Secondary School Aid


The Issue: Bills to reauthorize elementary and secondary school programs
will fuel election-year clashes over the federal role in
education.


Key Players:


Rep. William F. Goodling, R-Pa., chairman of the House Education and the
Workforce Committee


Sen. James M. Jeffords, R-Vt., chairman of the Senate Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions Committee


Recent Action: The House passed a bipartisan bill last year reauthorizing
Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, along with two
GOP-favored bills to improve teacher quality and increase local control
over federal school funds.


What to Watch: As the ESEA reauthorization dominates the congressional
education agenda, President Clinton will tout an initiative to help repair
dilapidated schools.


Molly M. Peterson

National Journal