Bob Graham on Education FL Sr Senator (retiring 2004); Democratic Primary Candidate for President

Fund education fully, to reduce racial inequality

Voted YES on funding smaller classes instead of private tutors.

Voted YES on funding student testing instead of private tutors.

Voted YES on spending $448B of tax cut on education & debt reduction.

Voted NO on Educational Savings Accounts.

Voted NO on education savings accounts.

Voted NO on school vouchers in DC.

Voted NO on $75M for abstinence education.

Voted NO on requiring schools to allow voluntary prayer.

Voted YES on national education standards.

Firmly opposed to Bush’s voucher proposal.

Dear President-Elect Bush,

As members of the Senate New Democrat Coalition and the House New Democrat Coalition, our first and foremost [priority is] education reform. As you know, a bicameral group of New Democrats introduced the “3 Rs” legislation last year. The “3Rs” bill is an example of the kind of bold, innovative approach that can form the basis of a bipartisan agreement to reform our public schools and boost the opportunities of our public schools. We are also well aware that you have endorsed a similar plan. While we remain firmly opposed to the voucher portion of your proposal, we believe that there are many areas of similarity in both approaches, providing an excellent opportunity for bipartisan agreement and compromise. We intend to re-introduce the “3Rs” legislation at the earliest opportunity later this month, and we look forward to working with you.

Three R’s: $35B for Reinvestment,Reinvention,Responsibility.

The Public Education Reinvestment, Reinvention and Responsibility Act (Three R's) [is] the common ground from which bipartisan compromise on education reform will be successfully achieved. The Three R’s would provide public schools with significantly increased funding and flexibility, increasing federal investment in education by $35 billion over the next 5 years, and targeting most of those new dollars toward closing the persistent achievement gap between poor and more affluent students. State & local officials would be given broader latitude to decide how to allocate federal funding in order to meet the specific needs of their communities. In return, states would be required to set standards for raising academic achievement, and improve the quality of their teachers.

The “Three R’s” bill is based on the policy recommendations by the Progressive Policy Institute:
• Streamline our national education priorities into five goal-oriented titles, focused on:
  1. closing the achievement gap between poor and more affluent children;
  2. helping to improve teacher quality;
  3. helping immigrant students master English and meet high standards in all subjects;
  4. promoting public school choice; and
  5. stimulating innovative local initiatives
• Create a tough new accountability system that pegs program funding to academic performance standards set by the states, and require “report cards” so that parents know how their school is performing;
• Reward states that exceed their standards with more flexibility and bonus funding, and for the first time ever, sanction those states that chronically fail to show improvements, by cutting administrative funds;
• Increase funding for disadvantaged students by 50%;
• Increase funding for teacher and principal professional development by more than 100%;
• Increase funding for immigrant students by $1 billion annually to improve English proficiency;
• Continue to reduce class size in the early grades.

More foreign languages courses and exchange students.

Concurrent resolution expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should establish an international education policy to enhance national security, significantly further U.S. foreign policy and economic competitiveness, and promote mutual understanding and cooperation among nations. Includes among policy objectives:
1. producing citizens with a high level of international experience;
2. promoting greater diversity of locations, languages, and subjects involved in teaching, research, and study abroad;
3. increasing participation in internships abroad;
4. invigorating citizen and professional international exchange programs;
5. supporting visas and employment policies that promote increased numbers of international students;
6. encouraging programs that begin foreign language learning in the United States at an early age;
7. promoting educational exchanges and research collaboration with American educational institutions abroad; and
8. promoting partnerships among government, business, and educational institutions and organizations to provide adequate resources for implementing this policy.

Rated 100% by the NEA, indicating pro-public education votes.

The National Education Association has a long, proud history as the nation's leading organization committed to advancing the cause of public education. Founded in 1857 "to elevate the character and advance the interests of the profession of teaching and to promote the cause of popular education in the United States," the NEA has remained constant in its commitment to its original mission as evidenced by the current mission statement:

To fulfill the promise of a democratic society, the National Education Association shall promote the cause of quality public education and advance the profession of education; expand the rights and further the interest of educational employees; and advocate human, civil, and economic rights for all.