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Article: Choice and Competition: Tonics for the U.S. Public-School System.(Elementary and Secondary Education Act)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Insight on the News
- Article date:
- February 15, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 News World Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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During the next two years, Congress will reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, or ESEA, a $13 billion federal program that encompasses most federal legislation affecting K-12 education. At the heart of ESEA is the infamous Title I program Aid to the Poor. This $8 billion annual disaster has spent more than $100 billion since its inception in 1965. Its catastrophic result: 57 percent of central-city fourth-graders in public schools cannot read.
Education historically and rightfully has been a state and local responsibility. Title I reauthorization offers an excellent opportunity to transfer resources and responsibility back to states and to show ...