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Bush Education Plan Praised and Pilloried




By Susan Jones

CNSNews.com Morning Editor

January 10, 2002



(CNSNews.com) - President Bush signed his more-money, more-accountability education bill two days ago, and here in Washington, various groups are offering their take on what it means, for better or worse.




One Pennsylvania lawmaker is very pleased with a student drug-testing provision in the new law.




According to Rep. John Peterson (R-Pa.), Bush's education bill authorizes school districts to use federal money to test for illegal drug use and to inspect students' lockers for weapons, illegal drugs, or drug paraphernalia.




Rep. Peterson is a longtime advocate of student drug testing. It is not about punishing students, but about saving our next generation of children, he said in a statement. He believes that drug-testing programs deter student drug abuse by making it more likely that the kids will be caught.




Student drug testing has now received the stamp of approval from Congress and the president, and it is up to local school districts to implement programs that will effectively reduce drugs in our schools and communities, Peterson said.




He notes that the bill President Bush signed Tuesday lets local school systems choose their own drug-testing programs, stipulating only that the policy must not violate the Constitution.




The federal money for student drug testing will come from the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program.




Dumb and Dumber




The Libertarian Party, never a fan of government intervention, says history shows the education bill will just make students dumber.




That's what has happened after the enactment of every federal education bill over the last 30 years, the party said in a statement.




Citing Department of Education figures, the Libertarian Party noted that between 1970 and 1995, federal education spending nearly doubled from $19 billion to $35 billion, but at the same time, SAT scores fell an average of 50 points.




Since 1960, federal education spending has more than tripled, and SAT scores have fallen 100 points, the Libertarians said in a press release. The party predicts that the 40 percent increase in education funding just signed into law by President Bush will make the problem worse.




According to the Libertarians, money won't improve the public education system, but competition will. It's time to move toward a genuine free-market system in public education, they say.




Private schools are rewarded only when they succeed, but government schools are rewarded even when they fail, said Steve Dasbach, the Libertarian Party's executive director.




Government-run school have been failing America's children for decades, he said. Sadly, their reward for that failure came on Tuesday, when George W. Bush increased their budget - again.




Critics of the education plan are disappointed that a voucher plan never made it into the final bill. Instead, students in failing public schools will simply have the option of moving to another government-run school - instead of receiving federal dollars to pay for private school tuition.

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