Partisan politics could sink ESEA bill

"Both parties are so far apart from each other, it's hard to imagine they will ever be able to compromise on legislation they can both support," says NSBA Federal Relations Director Reggie Felton.

As School Board News went to press, the Senate had begun debate, with more than 70 amendments expected. Republicans were strongly pushing provisions in the bill–the "Straight A's" state block grant program and "portability" for Title I–that were strongly opposed by the Democrats and the national public education organizations.

Earlier in the floor debate, the Senate rejected an amendment for a substitute program offered by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), which he and his cosponsors viewed as the best hope for a compromise. Neither party, however, viewed the amendment as meeting their priorities. It failed 84-3.

Now, Felton says, it appears both parties might want to wait until after the election, hoping that if their candidate wins in November, they'll have a better chance of having their ESEA proposals approved.

If that happens, Congress would continue the programs as currently enacted and start over next year with new legislation, new committee chairs and members, new hearings, and a new president.

Meanwhile, NSBA strongly opposes the Senate's ESEA bill, the Educational Opportunities Act (S.2), for two main reasons:

• It contains the Straight A's proposal (the Academic Achievement for All Act), similar to legislation passed by the House last fall, which allows up to 15 states to combine federal funding into a block grant if they execute a five-year performance agreement with the Education Department. S.2 also includes another Straight A's education block grant program open to all states.

"The Straight A's proposal focuses expanded flexibility at the wrong level," says Lori Meyer, director of federal legislation at NSBA. "Rather than focusing on the states and the governors, the bill should expand flexibility at the local school district level."

Meyer says this provision could result in public funds going to private and parochial schools at the expense of children in public schools.

Although the Senate passed an amendment banning funding under Straight A's from being used for private school vouchers, it is unclear if this amendment would be upheld in the courts, according to Education Department officials.

• The bill includes a "portability" provision that allows up to 10 states and up to 20 school districts to let parents of students eligible for Title I funding to use a portion of the school's funds for any public or private "tutorial assistance provider."

This voucher provision "would reduce the level of Title I funds currently available to schools with the greatest need," Meyer says. "More important, it is unrealistic to expect that the small amount of Title I funding that would be available to each student would have the same effect in terms of academic achievement as educational programs using the combined resources available to a single school or class."

In addition to the Title I program, ESEA covers safe and drug-free schools, comprehensive school improvement, bilingual education, teacher professional development, education technology, and many other programs.

While the House passed four separate bills dealing with the ESEA reauthorization, the Senate is tackling it in one huge bill.

The House has approved several voucher proposals, including a measure allowing students at an unsafe public school to use public funds to transfer to a private or other public school.

The Senate bill allows any student in an unsafe public school to transfer to another public school or public charter school. It defines an "unsafe public school" as one with "serious crime, violence, illegal drug, and discipline problems."

During the Senate floor debate, an amendment was passed stating that funds for teacher quality could be used for merit pay, teacher testing, and tenure reform.

Several amendments had been passed earlier by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

• An amendment aimed at closing the digital divide calls for every child to be computer literate by the end of eighth grade.

• The bill would create a national dropout prevention grants program.

• Another amendment provides funding to help more low-income and rural schools offer more Advanced Placement courses.

When the Senate resumes floor debate, it is expected to consider an amendment, proposed by Sens. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) to require public schools to get parents' written consent before they enter into commercial agreements.

The bill, aimed at protecting the privacy of students in schools that use Channel One or ZapMe! computer services, would require extensive public disclosure and parental permission before students could participate in activities where they might be exposed to advertising.

NSBA opposes the amendment because it would severely restrict student access to the Internet, undermine local control, and impose an administrative burden on local schools.

Reproduced with permission from the May 16, 2000, issue of School Board News. Copyright © 2000, National School Boards Association. Opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect positions of NSBA. This article may be printed out and photocopied for individual or educational use, provided this copyright notice appears on each copy. This article may not be otherwise transmitted or reproduced in print or electronic form without the consent of the Publisher. For more information, call (703) 838-6789.