Issue Position: Excellence in Education

Issue Position

The Republican Party believes that the primary focus of education should be on academic achievement. In a global economy where outsourcing is commonplace, our students must be proficient in math and science. In order for our nation to survive and prosper, our students must have a thorough understanding of history, civics and the philosophical concepts upon which our government is based. Self-esteem based educational programs which undermine academic achievement do not serve the long term interests of our children.

Educating the citizens of New Hampshire is our hope for the future of this great state. We believe that New Hampshire must provide its children an education based upon excellence. We recognize parents as first and primary teachers. We oppose state interference with parental rights and believe that:

* Only parents can be entrusted to control the education of their children and choose schools that best suit their children's needs
* Laws should be implemented to encourage school choice and competition and allow all parents to choose the best public, private, charter or home school program for their children
* School vouchers or tuition tax credits should be made available to assist in school choice
* The so-called "Blaine Amendment" should be repealed so as to end discrimination against religious schools
* We support increased use of market forces to provide and improve education

Local Control and Education Funding

As Republicans, our goal is to meet the cost of education as efficiently as possible. It is our belief that citizens who control their own education budgets have the strongest incentives to spend their money wisely. It is the position of the Republican Party that:

* Local control of education policy and education funding creates the best-managed school systems
* The New Hampshire Constitution should be amended to empower the people and their elected representatives to set educational funding and policy goals
* State and federal school aid should not contain mandates that prevent parents and local taxpayers from making educational decisions for their own communities
* We demand that the federal government fully fund its commitment to special education mandates under the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) and NCLB (No Child Left Behind

The Classroom

Republicans believe that a quality education advances good citizenship, knowledge, and self worth and enables informed participation in public and governmental affairs. To improve and strengthen the classroom, we believe in:

* Supporting innovative measures to reduce overly burdensome tuition costs while increasing the national competitiveness of our education system
* Working to implement the nation's highest competency and accountability standards for our teachers and students; empowering teachers to maintain orderly, disciplined classrooms; and compensating teachers based upon their performance (merit pay). Tenure for public school teachers removes the incentive to excel, and therefore should be eliminated
* Working to promote abstinence as the first line of defense in health education curricula
* Working to develop and teach a curriculum that emphasizes personal responsibility and consequences for one's actions, including responsible citizenship informed by a knowledge of civics, American history, and American politics and government
* Reviewing and reforming the teacher certification process
* Support payroll protection legislation to allow teachers to decide upon allocation of their dues for political purposes
* The language of public instruction be in English, except in the teaching of foreign languages

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