Standardized tests to advance learning, not bureaucracy
We will use testing to advance real learning, not undermine it, by developing high-quality assessments that measure the complex skills students need to develop.
We will make sure that federal law operates with high standards and common sense, not just bureaucratic rigidity.
Source: The Democratic Platform for America, p.31-32
Jul 10, 2004
Charter schools OK, vouchers not
Instead of pushing private school vouchers that funnel scarce dollars away from the public schools, we will support public school choice, including charter schools and magnet schools that meet the same high standards as other schools.
And at a time when so many schools charged with our future are relics of the past, we will build new schools and offer the technology and equipment for a 21st century education.
Source: The Democratic Platform for America, p.31-32
Jul 10, 2004
Support lifelong learning and Distance Learning
In addition to reforming K-12 education, we will expand training and opportunities for Americans of all ages. We will support regional skills alliances, workforce development conducted at community colleges, and other initiatives that prepare workers for
Source: The Democratic Platform for America, p.22
Jul 10, 2004
Bush broke promise of NCLB by not funding it
For this White House, education is an easy promise - easy come, and easy go. When President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act, he said the right things - asking more from our schools and pledging to give them the resources to get the job done.
And then he promptly broke his word, providing schools $27 billion less than he had promised, literally leaving millions of children behind.
The President also gets a failing grade for higher education. Over the last three years, college tuitions have risen by 35 percent, pricing 220,000 students out of college.
Yet while then- Governor Bush promised to increase college aid, President Bush tried to charge more for student loans and eliminate Pell Grants for 84,000 students.
Gore will make education his top domestic priority. Nine out of every ten children in this country attend a public school. We know that America will not remain first in the world economically unless we become first in the world educationally. We should
have a fully qualified teacher in every classroom. Every failing school in America should be turned around - or shut down and reopened under new leadership. We should ensure that no high school student graduates unless they have mastered the basics.
Parents across the nation ought to be able to choose the best public school for their children. Every eighth grader in America should be computer literate. Affordable pre-school should be fully available to every family. Every child should
learn in a safe, modern classroom with the most up-to-date technology. The achievement gap between students of color and the rest of America’s students should be eliminated.
Source: Democratic National Platform
Aug 15, 2000
Character education is an important aspect of education
Education is not just about test scores, but about passing on our values to the next generation of American citizens. We should have a zero-tolerance policy towards guns in schools. Each school should institute strict, firm,
and fair discipline policies that are agreed upon on the first day of the school year at a meeting of teachers, parents, and students. Democrats believe in “second-chance schools” where kids expelled from school can
get the concentrated help they need to get back on the path. Democrats have increased after-school assistance 500 times over in the last four years. Character education is so important in our schools.
Schools need to make sure they teach kids respect, reliability, and responsibility as well.
Source: Democratic National Platform
Aug 15, 2000
Accountability is a key to public school success
Accountability means we will no longer tolerate mediocrity. Accountability applies to states, districts, schools, teachers, students, and parents. Consistently bad schools should be shut down. Students in those schools should get first priority in
transferring to a better-performing public school. Teaching contracts should not be an automatic lifetime job guarantee. The federal government needs to be held accountable.
Source: Democratic National Platform
Aug 15, 2000
Reduce class size, modernize facilities, hire new teachers
We need to put one million new teachers in our classrooms. We must reduce class size by hiring 100,000 teachers. We need to pay teachers like professionals. We should rebuild school buildings to assure students can attend schools that
are modern and safe. We need to construct new schools to meet the needs of the largest generation of students in history. We must assure that schools have the resources to meet the challenges of an increasingly diverse student population.
Source: Democratic National Platform
Aug 15, 2000
Enact new tax programs to enable more life-long learning
Gore has proposed a National Tuition Savings program to tie together state savings programs in more than 30 states so that parents can save for college tax-free. We propose a tax cut that allows families to choose either a $10,000 a year
tax deduction or a $2,800 tax credit. The next great frontier in American education is expanding lifelong learning. We should create a tax credit for employers. We must also give training allowances that will extend unemployment insurance
for those who need time to finish their training courses. Gore has called for new 401(j) accounts that would let employers help employees save tax free and use those savings for learning.
He has also called for a permanent tax exemption to encourage employers to provide tuition assistance benefits.
Source: Democratic National Platform
Aug 15, 2000
U.S. needs public school accountability, not vouchers
The Democratic Party supports expansion of charter schools, magnet schools, site-based schools, year-round schools, and other nontraditional options. Public schools should have the freedom to design their curriculum within standards and should
compete for students. What America needs are public schools that compete and are held accountable for results, not private school vouchers that drain resources from public schools and hand over the public’s hard-earned tax dollars to private schools.
Source: Democratic National Platform
Aug 15, 2000
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