Education Week: Bush’s Latest ‘Voucher’ Idea May Face Same Fate as Others

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State of the Initiatives
President Bush's education proposals from his past State of the Union addresses have had a mixed record of success.
2002
PROPOSALS: Touted the then-just-passed No Child Left Behind Act as a bipartisan effort to craft new school accountability requirements. Urged Congress to improve Head Start, but didn't propose any specifics.
RESULTS: Head Start was finally reauthorized last year, but without many of the Bush administration's key ideas.
2003
PROPOSALS: Called for spending $450 million over three years to recruit and train mentors for middle school students and children of prisoners.
RESULTS:Congress created two mentoring programs, funded at $50 million each.
2004
PROPOSALS: Unveiled a "Jobs for the 21st Century" initiative that included a $100 million reading-intervention program for middle and high school students. Also proposed larger Pell Grants for students who take challenging courses in high school, and a program to encourage math and science professionals to teach in K-12 classrooms.
RESULTS: In 2006, Congress approved Academic Competitiveness Grants, which give extra Pell Grant money to students who take a rigorous high school curriculum. Congress financed the Striving Readers program, although only at $25 million. The proposal on math and science professionals in the classroom hasn't come to fruition.
2005
PROPOSALS: Called for increasing the maximum amount of the Pell Grant. In budget, proposed increasing the frequency of testing for high school students under the NCLB law.
RESULTS: In 2007, lawmakers approved the College Cost Reduction Act, which is increasing maximum Pell Grants to $5,400 over five years. But the high school proposal hasn't gained traction.
2006
PROPOSALS: Called for extra help for students who struggle with math and money to help train teachers to lead Advanced Placement courses. Reiterated call for attracting math and science professionals to teach in K-12 schools.
RESULTS: Congress in 2007 authorized the Math Now program, aimed at helping improve instruction in that subject, but provided no funding for it in the fiscal 2008 budget. Under the America Competes Act of 2007, lawmakers authorized additional funding for training AP teachers.
2007
PROPOSALS: Urged Congress to reauthorize the NCLB law. White House proposals included permitting students in underperforming schools to use federal funds to transfer to private schools.
RESULTS: The NCLB reauthorization stalled in Congress last year, although the chairmen of the House and Senate education committees have pledged to renew work on the law.
SOURCE: Education Week