Focus on the Family Disappointed with Education Reform Bill

Focus on the Family
Tuesday, 8 January 2002

Dick Carpenter, Ph.D., Focus on the Family's Education Analyst, released the following statement in response to President Bush signing H.R. 1, the No Child Left Behind education reform bill, into law today.

"While there are positive aspects of this education bill, we are disappointed that it fails to include the most significant reform recommendations from the president's proposals.

"President Bush's original plan included an essential provision that would reduce burdensome federal regulations on schools and their districts, called 'Straight A's.' The final bill includes only a severely reduced version of this plan.

"Also missing is any authentic school choice. This bill does not enable parents to seek the most effective approach to their child's education. Students in chronically failing schools have only one alternative-another public school.

"The cost of this bill is a staggering burden. No Child Left Behind will cost taxpayers $26.3 billion, an increase of $8 billion over the current budget. Rather than prop up wasteful federal bureaucracy, the government would do well to acknowledge and invest in what studies prove is the single most important factor in a child's educational success--the family."

For more information, or to contact Focus on the Family, see their website at: www.family.org