Ehrlich on Washington column, December 11, 2000

MEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Second Congressional District of Maryland 1407 York Rood, Suite 304 Lutherville, Maryland 21093 3 1 5 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 205 1 5 EHRLICH ON WASHINGTON Week of December 1 1 , 2000 By Congressman Robert L. Ehrlich Truth Behind the Education Debate Over the past several months, as the Republican-led Congress has voted to increase education funding levels, President Clinton has blamed Republicans for “cutting” investments in our nation’s schools as part of election year rhetoric. I voted for increased funding and education reform and want you to know the facts in this ongoing debate. Congress has succeeded in passing significant education reform and increased funding for aid programs designed to improve education in America. The Republican-led House has returned education decision making back to the local level by taking power away from Washington-based federal bureaucrats and placed it rightly in the hands of parents, teachers and local school leaders. 1 am proud to have supported the following education accomplishments in the 106lh Congress: • Full Funding, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): This program, originally adopted in 1976, provides assistance to students with special needs. Not since enactment, however, has IDEA ever received the full funding it deserves. This year, the Republican-led House passed legislation providing IDEA with the full funding afforded to it only once before, in 1976. • Teacher Empowerment Act: This legislation allows local school districts to use funds for training teachers in exchange for improved student performance, and encourages state and local efforts to improve teacher testing and tenure reform. • The Students Results Act: This bill helps students in failing schools by providing opportunities for public school choice and increased teacher quality standards. It includes the “Dollars to the Classroom” initiative, which directs the Education Secretary to send 95% of federal education dollars to the classroom where decisions are made locally by people who know the children’s names and their educational needs. In each of these bills, I voted for and the House acted affirmatively for passage into law. It is now up to our Senators to finalize passage so the President may sign these initiatives.