State of the Union Previews Bush’s Education Budget

On Monday, President Bush gave his seventh and final State of the Union address to Congress and the nation, providing a sneak peek at some key initiatives from his budget request that will be released next week. Here are some of the issues that affect public school education.
 
“Pell Grants for Kids”
President Bush called on Congress to adopt another federal voucher program called “Pell Grants for Kids.” The important distinction between traditional recipients of Pell Grants and K-12 students is that public schools are free and compulsory, while Pell Grants help students pay for college that is not free and is voluntary.

NAESP will strongly oppose the President’s proposal and attempt to redirect the $300 million he’s earmarked for the voucher program to a public education priority, like Title I.

ESEA Reauthorization
President Bush instructed Congress to reauthorize No Child Left Behind before he leaves office, stating “today, no one can deny [the] results” of the law. NAESP does not expect to see a final reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, currently known as NCLB, before 2009 but we will continue to share NAESP’s recommendations for the ESEA reauthorization with Congress.

In the meantime, visit the newly designed Leading Educators’ Advocacy Dashboard (LEAD) to find out updates on the progress toward ESEA’s reauthorization.