President Bush celebrated the second anniversary of one of his signature domestic achievements last week, as he trumpeted two schools he believes have begun to live up to the promise of the No Child Left Behind Act.
The events came as attacks on the law鈥攕igned on Jan. 8, 2002鈥攈ave become more widespread in some circles, including among the Democratic candidates seeking to replace the president next fall. (鈥溾�楴o Child鈥� Law Faulted in Democratic Race,鈥� this issue.)
鈥淚鈥檓 here to congratulate this school and to really hold you up for the nation to see what is possible when you raise the bar, when you鈥檙e not afraid to hold people to account, when you empower your teachers and your principals to achieve the objective we all want,鈥� Mr. Bush told an audience at Pierre Laclede Elementary School in St. Louis. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 to make sure no child, not one single child in America, is left behind.鈥�
Meanwhile, the president last week also offered a glimpse of the education spending request he鈥檚 planning for fiscal 2005. A White House fact sheet issued Jan. 8 said he will seek $1 billion more for the Title I program for disadvantaged children鈥攖he flagship program in the No Child Left Behind law鈥攁nd an additional $1 billion for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the main federal special education law.
President Bush also used last week鈥檚 school visits to respond to criticism of the No Child Left Behind law, such as complaints that its heavy reliance on standardized testing punishes schools and children.
鈥業t鈥檚 Not to Punish鈥�
鈥淭he test isn鈥檛 a punishment, you know; it鈥檚 not to punish anybody,鈥� Mr. Bush said during the Jan. 5 visit to Laclede Elementary. 鈥淭he test is to determine who needs extra help. And that鈥檚 exactly why Laclede is doing well, I鈥檓 convinced, or one of the main reasons why.鈥�
Recent state testing data for the small, K-5 school in St. Louis suggests that it has made remarkable progress in several categories, including reading. The proportion of 3rd graders who achieved the 鈥渁dvanced鈥� or 鈥減roficient鈥� rating in reading climbed from about 7 percent in 1999 to 82 percent this past year. The school last year had 226 children, all of whom were identified as African-American and eligible for free or reduced-price lunches.
The president also addressed the law in his Jan. 3 weekly radio address and in a visit to West View Elementary School in Knoxville, Tenn., on Jan. 8.
Democratic presidential contender Howard Dean used the second anniversary of the No Child Left Behind Act to attack Mr. Bush.
鈥淧resident Bush had no problem finding money for lavish tax breaks for millionaires, or over $150 billion for his misguided war in Iraq,鈥� Mr. Dean said in Fargo, N.D., on Jan. 5, according to a Dean campaign press release. 鈥淏ut when it comes to fully funding his [No Child Left Behind] mandates, schools are out of luck.鈥�
At a debate a day earlier in Iowa, Mr. Dean called the law an 鈥渦nbelievable, intrusive mandate.鈥�
But not all Democrats last week expressed such sentiments.
鈥淚 think the act is actually doing pretty well,鈥� Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., and a principal architect of the law, said in an interview. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to pretend for a moment that it鈥檚 easy to implement, easy to make these changes, ... but it鈥檚 making a positive change for a lot of children and a lot of families who weren鈥檛 part of the education equation [before].鈥�
He added: 鈥淚t would be a lot easier if the president would keep his part of the promise [on funding].鈥�
Mr. Miller and other Democrats argue that President Bush and congressional Republicans should back funding for No Child Left Behind Act programs equal to the authorization levels set in the law. For fiscal 2004, which began Oct. 1, the law authorized $18.5 billion for Title I, and for fiscal 2005, $20.5 billion.
The president鈥檚 planned Title I request for 2005 would bring total spending for that program to $13.4 billion鈥� an 8 percent increase鈥攆or the budget year that begins this coming October. State grants for special education would increase to $11.1 billion, a 10 percent rise.
Rep. John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, the chairman of the House education committee, countered the funding criticism, noting in a press release that federal education spending has climbed dramatically the past few years.
鈥淲hen they controlled Congress and the White House, Democrats routinely appropriated less money for education programs than they authorized, yet not a single Democrat accused President Clinton of 鈥榰nderfunding鈥� education,鈥� Mr. Boehner said.
History鈥檚 Wrong Side?
Also last week, Secretary of Education Rod Paige touched on the No Child Left Behind law in remarks at an event tied to the upcoming 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, which struck down racially segregated systems of public education.
He compared opposition to the federal law signed two years ago to the defiance that the Brown decision encountered.
鈥淣o Child Left Behind is a powerful, sweeping law,鈥� Mr. Paige said at a Jan. 7 event sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank. 鈥淏ecause of the powerful sweep of this change, this revolution, there are some who resist. That鈥檚 to be expected. The resistance to Brown was massive and sustained over generations.
鈥淭hose who fought against Brown were on the wrong side of history,鈥� he said, 鈥渏ust as those who fight No Child Left Behind will be judged so.鈥�
