Copyright 1999 Plain Dealer Publishing Co.
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May 19, 1999 Wednesday, FINAL / ALL
SECTION: NATIONAL; Pg. 6A
LENGTH: 482 words
HEADLINE:
WHITE HOUSE WILL PROPOSE PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE PLAN
BYLINE: By IRVIN MOLOTSKY; NEW YORK TIMES
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
BODY:
As part of the law that determines how billions of dollars in federal money
is to be spent for education over the next five years, the Clinton
administration plans to propose today that every school district allow
low-income parents to send their children to any public school in their town,
officials say.
The proposal, to be announced by Education Secretary
Richard W. Riley, is the administration's effort to grapple with the issue of
school choice. While conservatives generally support vouchers that would help
low-income parents send their children to private and parochial schools, many
Democrats say such programs would undercut support for public education.
Just this week, presenting his own education program in a campaign
speech in Iowa, Vice President Al Gore said parents "should have more choice in
their children's public schools" but added: "Of course we must reject the false
promise of siphoning public school funding away to private schools. That would
only make things worse."
Officials did not offer details on how the
administration's plan would work. But the Acting Deputy Education Secretary,
Marshall S. Smith, spoke favorably of programs like those in Cambridge, Mass.,
and Montclair, N.J., that rely on magnet schools, specializing in fields like
science or music, to attract children throughout the district.
The law
in question is the Elementary and Secondary Education Act,
which comes up for renewal this year. Most of the money it allocates is for
Title I, the federal program to aid low-income children.
Smith said the
provision on school choice was part of the administration's effort to hold
schools accountable, especially in educating low-income children. To that end,
he said, Secretary Riley will propose a plan under which all districts would
grade the schools on their performance and post the grades so that they could be
seen by the public.
Bruce N. Reed, President Clinton's chief domestic
policy adviser, said yesterday that the White House was eager to use the measure
to frame a congressional debate "over whether there should be a strong national
role for the federal government in holding the schools accountable."
The
administration and its Democratic allies in Congress say the federal role flows
from the school districts' acceptance of federal money, especially the money
intended to improve the education of poor children.
"The national
government," Reed said, "should be insisting on results for its money.The debate
in Congress and in the 2000 campaign will be over what role the federal
government should have."
Republicans in Congress generally prefer to
keep school accountability on the local and state level. Rep. William F.
Goodling, the Pennsylvania Republican who heads the House Committee on Education
and the Work Force, said last night that he applauded Riley's aims but differed
on how to achieve them.
LOAD-DATE: May 20, 1999
