HIS ELECTION YEAR voters have education on their minds. And on this issue the differences between the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates could not be more stark. Indeed, the candidates' positions on education tell us more than what they think about fixing our nation's schools; they speak volumes about each man's philosophy of government.
In a nutshell, Al Gore believes that we should increase the role of the federal government in education. George W. Bush understands that most education decisions are local, but he wants to use the power of the federal government to ensure accountability and opportunity. Consider the following:
SCHOOL CHOICE. Bush, whose children graduated from public school, wants to use choice and vouchers to improve public education. Gore, whose children will all graduate from elite private schools, is against breaking the public school monopoly. Studies prove that vouchers work, and polls consistently show support for school choice among minorities (particularly poor ones). Yet Gore will not allow poor black and Latino students the educational opportunities enjoyed by his own children.
SPENDING. Both candidates would increase federal spending on education. Bush supports targeted spending to reform failed programs and strengthen state and local accountability. Gore, meanwhile, would create vast federal bureaucracies to micromanage everything from school staffing to school construction without regard to student achievement.
While Gore doles out generous sums of money with one hand, he takes money away from schools with the other. That is because in Al Gore's America, school districts will face an increasing number of costly lawsuits.
Indeed, during the past 71/2 years, the Clinton/Gore Education Department has issued several policies that encourage lawsuits against schools.
For example, in 1996 the Clinton/Gore administration gave its blessing to students who sue their schools for so-called peer sexual harassment (that is, harassment by other students). Moreover, the administration announced that it would investigate and financially punish schools that were unable to control inappropriate student behavior.
In addition to forcing school districts to spend a greater portion of their budgets on harassment training and legal advice, the Clinton/Gore policy encourages contingent fee lawyers to seek unlimited monetary damages from schools, even if that means bankrupting an entire school district.
TEACHERS. Gore says he wants to raise teacher salaries and put 100,000 new teachers in our schools. Bush rejects this one-size-fits-all approach and believes that personnel decisions are best made at the local level. Yet by cutting our federal income taxes, Bush would free up funds that local communities could raise through taxes and spend where needed - on more teachers, computers, athletics, etc.
ACCOUNTABILITY. Bush would free schools from burdensome regulations on the condition that they demonstrate results. The Bush plan requires states to conduct yearly reading and math tests of all public school students in Grades 3 through 8. Bush would financially reward states that make progress in closing the achievement gap between rich and poor and would penalize states with declining achievement.
Al Gore, on the other hand, thinks that if he says the word accountability often enough, people will think he is for it. He's not.
Gore seeks only voluntary testing and does not require that schools demonstrate results as a condition of federal funding.
A recent Clinton/Gore policy demonstrates that Gore does not support testing as a means of boosting performance. The policy threatens withdrawal of federal money from schools or states that administer high-stakes tests (such as high school graduation exams) if minority students fail at a higher rate than whites. Moreover, the Clinton/Gore policy promotes the use of federal court litigation against schools that employ such tests. Rather than improve the educational system that has failed so many minority students, the Clinton/Gore administration has chosen to blame failing scores on alleged bias in the tests. How's that for accountability?
Indeed, on almost every issue related to education, Gore favors increased government bureaucracy and stands with the teachers unions against real reform. So despite the rhetoric, when it comes to educating America's youth, it is Al Gore who is for the powerful and George W. Bush who stands for the people.
Jennifer C. Braceras is an attorney and research fellow at Harvard Law School. Her column appears regularly in the Globe.
