EDUCATION

“We are challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations," President Bush says, “All children can learn."

For our community, education has always been a critical issue. A failed educational system does more harm to deaf and hard of hearing individuals than any other aspect of our lives, because education and literacy is our sole link to the outside world.

See these distressing figures that was noted by President Bush's New Freedom Initiative program:

• The High School graduation rate for students who rely on special education and related services is 27%. The graduation rate for students who do not use these services is 75%.
• The unemployment rate for working-age adults with disabilities is 70%. Rates are significantly lower for working-age adults without disabilities.
• The rate of home ownership for people with disabilities is 10% while the rate of home-ownership for individuals without disabilities is 70%.

President Bush says he has requested the largest increases of any President in history for the IDEA Part B State Grants program. Overall, the Department of Education received more than $7.5 billion for IDEA Part B to help states and localities provide special education and related services to America's students with disabilities. The President has also requested an additional increase of $1 billion for the IDEA Part B State Grants program in the FY 2003 budget, for a total of $8.5 billion.

President Bush also cites his "First and Early Reading First Initiatives" program, established as part of his "No Child Left Behind Act", as having created a comprehensive reading program for students, including those with disabilities, from preschool through third grade. The goal is to ensure that all children, including those with disabilities, are reading by the third grade. States are required to initiate diagnostic tests, research-based curriculum, and special training for teachers in order to receive these funds.

The President has also created a Presidential Commission on Special Education. The purpose of this commission is to emphasize accountability under the No Child Left Behind Act for the educational outcomes of students with disabilities. (2004 Presidential Candidates and Disability Issues)

President Bush's proposal to increase $1 billion in funding for the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) would represent a 75% increase since 2001.

President Bush has also proposed $100 million for the Striving Readers program and a $120 million increase for the Math and Science Partnerships program to help catch up middle and high school students who have fallen behind in reading and math. This funding will significantly benefit students with disabilities who may not have received proper instruction in the early grades.

President Bush: Committed to Access & Affordability

Pledge to Financial Aid. Under the President's 2005 budget, student aid for higher education would increase to more than $73 billion -- an increase of $25.9 billion (55%) since 2001. Almost 10 million students and parents would receive one or more grants, loans or work-study awards. In addition, state governments as well as colleges and universities have increased student aid so that the combined Federal, state and institutional support now tops $105 billion. (“Trends in College Pricing," College Board, 2003)

Pell Grants: The President's 2005 budget requests $12.9 billion in grants for needy undergraduate students - an increase of $4.1 billion (47%) since 2001 - which will help an estimated 5.3 million low-income students pay for higher education. This is one million more students since President Bush took office. The increase would fully fund the cost of maintaining the $4,050 maximum award in 2005-06. Students who take rigorous high school courses are eligible to receive a $1,000 Enhanced Pell grant bringing the total maximum award to $5,050.

Jobs for the 21st Century: At a time when 80% of the fastest growing jobs require some kind of post-secondary education, the President’s initiative provides $250 million for a new, employment-focused competitive grant that will leverage the expertise of the nation’s community and technical colleges and help workers wishing to retool, refine, and broaden their skills.

Attracting More Students Into Math And Science Subjects: The Presidential Math and Science Scholars Fund will establish a new public-private partnership to provide $100 million in grants to low-income students who study math or science beginning in 2006. Under this plan, low-income college students would receive up to $5,000 each to study math or science.

Life-Long Learning: The President proposed establishing a new $125 million Community College Access Grants Fund to improve the services that community colleges provide and encourage high school students to continue on to college, especially for low-income and minority students. To make worker training more affordable, the President proposed to make loans available to help workers pay for short-term training that leads to an industry-recognized credential or certificate. And, the President’s plan would increase post-secondary education options and eliminate needless student aid restrictions – particularly for adult students – giving them greater access to the skills they need to succeed.

No Child Left Behind Act Facts:

• President Bush's overall Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 budget represents a 48% increase for elementary and secondary education since FY 2001. It includes an additional:
- $1 billion in Title I funding for disadvantaged students, for a total that represents a 52% increase since FY 2001.
- $138 million for reading programs, for a total that is over four times the amount spent in FY 2001.
- $1 billion for special education programs, in total, an increase of 75% since FY 2001.

The Federal government has already made these funds available, but some states and local school districts have not utlized them:

• No Child Left Behind has made significant new resources available to states and local school districts, but some states and school districts have not been able to take full advantage of these resources. According to the Department of Education, as of December 11, 2003, a total of nearly $6 billion in Federal education funds remained unspent, waiting to be drawn down by state officials. These funds are from amounts appropriated in 2000 through 2002.

• The total includes nearly $2 billion in No Child Left Behind Title I funds intended to benefit disadvantaged children across America. The total also includes more than $1.6 billion in unspent No Child Left Behind school improvement funds that provide extra help to struggling schools, and nearly $2 billion to assist children with disabilities. Some of the money has been in the account since fiscal year 2000, more than a year before No Child Left Behind was even enacted.

• In Tennessee alone, more than $116 million in Federal education funds have not been spent, including nearly $43 million in No Child Left Behind Title I funding for disadvantaged students and schools that was provided by Congress from fiscal year 2000 through fiscal year 2002. The total also includes more than $33 million in unspent No Child Left Behind school improvement funds that are meant to be used to provide extra help to schools, and more than $30 million to assist children with disabilities.

(Read FactCheck.org: Democratic Internet Ad Confuses Fiction and Fact - Animated cartoon claims Bush cuts education funding, but it's really up 58%)