In a striking reversal of fortune, Democratic nominee John Kerry has finally done something right with the unveiling of his plans for education reform. The plan follows the theme of Bush’s controversial No Child Left Behind Act by stressing accountability from teachers, but builds upon the previous act by providing monetary incentive to those districts that agree to play by the rules.
The plan would provide states more than $20 million over the next decade to hire more teachers and raise pay, particularly in urban districts that face particularly debilitating shortages. In return, those states that agree to participate would loosen the “tenure-esque” employment protections that teachers currently receive. An additional $10 billion over the next decade would provide aid to struggling schools.
Although the plan has yet to receive a strong reaction in either direction from teacher’s unions (and other similarly affected groups), several prognosticators have ventured that Kerry’s plan is a bit more centrist than the unions might like. As Kerry has been know to fold a bit after receiving pressure in the past (his sudden change of heart in regards to outsourcing, post his wins in the Midwestern primaries being one of the latest), it will be particularly interesting to see how this unfolds.
A few resources on the No Child Left Behind Act, Kerry’s recent proposals and an amazing blog called Eduwonk that covers the education space…
- http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/2004/la-na-kerry7may07,1,1220004.story?coll=la-home-headlines
- http://www.ndol.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=252576&kaid=110&subid=900023
- www.eduwonk.com
Contact El Duderino at jaipf@hotmail.com.
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