President George W. Bush is traveling to schools throughout the nation to sell his education plan, almost as if he was still on the campaign trail.
In a way he is still seeking votes. The votes he needs now are from Congress, however. His plan has to be approved by both houses of Congress to become law. By taking his proposals to the American people and asking them to pressure their elected federal Representatives to support his ideas, he hopes to win enough votes to succeed.
Bush's plan includes a proposal to guarantee that every child will be able to read by the third grade. He also wants to help the worst schools improve by giving them money.
To determine which schools are poor performers, he proposes that each year, third- and eighth-graders take tests. Schools with students who don't do well on the tests would receive money. The schools would have three years to improve or be forced to help parents send their kids to private schools. In these cases, parents would receive a ticket worth about $1,500 each year to pay for private school. The money could also be used for tutoring. These coupons are called vouchers.
"When schools do not teach and will not change, parents and students must have other meaningful options," Bush says.
Opponents say vouchers will only make it worse for the children who can't afford to go to private schools. The money from the government would not be enough to pay full tuition at a private school.
Instead of using the money to help some kids go to private schools, the funds should be used to try to improve public schools, voucher opponents say.
House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt, a Democrat, agrees that changes should be made, just not with vouchers.
"Vouchers drain funds from failing schools at the very moment when schools need these resources the most," he says. "This could leave children behind."
Others say the $44.5 billion Bush proposes to spend for these improvements is too small to make a difference.
"He will not be able to turn around failing schools with his anemic education budget," says Rep. George Miller, Democrat from California.
