President Bush Proposes $1 Billion Increase for IDEA

Washington, DC. The Washington Post reports that President Bush is proposing to increase federal spending for IDEA by 1 billion dollars in the next budget year.

Bush also proposed an additional 1 billion for Title I programs for disadvantaged students.

Bush said, "We want these new dollars to carry to special education the same spirit of reform and accountability we have brought to other education programs . . . We must have high expectations for children who are more difficult to teach or who have fallen behind."

"Our challenge is to make sure that every child has a fair chance to succeed in life," President Bush said. "That is why education is the great civil rights issue of our time . . . Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would accept no less than an equal concern for every child in America, and neither will my administration."

A few days ago, President Bush signed a far-reaching education bill that requires annual testing of reading and math skills for children in grades three through eight. The new bill also requires schools to increase teacher qualifications and develop periodic "report cards" that rank their standardized test scores with other area schools.

Under the new law, schools must improve reading and math proficiency among students and close performance gaps between wealthy and poor students and between white and minority students.

Full text of article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7297-2002Jan19.html

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