Goals 2000

On April 22, 1993, Goals 2000 was introduced as the Clinton Administration's elementary and secondary school reform package. The lack of reform provisions and the addition of three new bureaucracies are among the many reasons why I voted against this bill.

Specifically, Goals 2000 authorizes money for school improvement grants to states and codifies the six national education goals formulated by the nation's governors at President Bush's Education Summit in 1990. Though Goals 2000 grants are optional, school districts accepting this money will ultimately end up throwing their doors wide open to all sorts of federal red tape. That is because Goals 2000 requires each state to create standards of content identifying what children should know in certain subjects at certain points in their education; how to assess what students have learned; and ideas for teacher training. However, before states are allowed to implement their own standards, they must first meet national "Opportunity to Learn Standards."

Opportunity to Learn Standards are supposed to measure whether there is adequate money, programs, and other human and physical resources in every school, every district, and every state. Such criteria might include smaller classes, new technology, competent teachers, culturally diverse programs and newly issued text books. Liberals argue that it is unfair to set standards for students until the quality of their schools are taken into account and equalized.

While this requirement may sound reasonable, it is not. Such a rigid federal mandate means that schools will not be permitted to move forward with much-needed reform until costly improvements are made to things that have absolutely nothing to do with education. Of course, these improvements will cost state and local communities tremendous amounts of money and will permit federal regulation of such things as curricula, textbooks, facilities and instructional materials.

I wholeheartedly believe that the solution to the problems with our education system should be solved at the local level. That is because education depends on committed communities and teachers who are determined to see real improvement in our education system. Additionally, a successful education system depends on parents who are determined to participate in the education process as well students who are enthusiastic about learning. Goals 2000 does nothing to foster these proven approaches to improving education. That's why the House eliminated all funding for this program when it passed the Fiscal Year 1996 Labor-HHS Appropriations Bill earlier this year. Whether or not Goals 2000 receives funding will be determined by an upcoming House-Senate Conference Committee.

Please rest assured that I will continue to push for legislation that provides local school districts with the ability to enact radical reforms and genuinely improve the quality of our nation's education system.