Legislative
Update: Senator McCain's Education Plan, National Math Panel, and COPAJuly
28, 2008Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee,
has released details from his education plan, "Strengthening America's Schools."
The plan focuses on empowering parents and educators at the local level and giving
them more control over school choice and funding. "Funding
cannot be effectively apportioned in Washington, but it shouldn't be a state-level
official or district bureaucrat either," McCain says in his education vision.
"The money must be controlled by the leader we hold accountable: the school
principal with a single criterion to raise student achievement."
The idea of local accountability was first discussed at the AEP Great American
Education Forum, where representatives from both parties spoke about their candidate's
education platforms. Senator McCain's rep Lisa Graham Keegan said that he wanted
the states to provide examples of schools that work and help other schools and
districts raise their achievement levels, perhaps even having states compare themselves
to international rankings. Even with regards to No Child
Left Behind, while McCain is supportive of the principles behind the law, he appears
to focus more on the schools and individuals rather than on national averages:
"…our goal cannot be group averages. Instead, our focus should be to
inspire every child to strive to reach his or her potential." In addition,
his plan states, "Choice is the best way to protect children against a failing
bureaucracy. But parents must have more control over the money."
Senator Obama had previously posted his plan on his website.
John
McCain's Plan for Strengthening America's Schools Barack
Obama's Plan for Lifetime Success Through Education AEP
Great American Education Forum National
Math Panel Publishers and organizations interested in
the national debate on math curriculum have an upcoming opportunity to present
their views. The U.S. Department of Education, in partnership with the Conference
Board of Mathematical Sciences, is hosting a National Math Panel Forum to bring
together various organizations and other interested parties to discuss ways to
engage their members or constituents in discussions about the National Math Panel's
findings and recommendations. The first forum will take place October 6-7 in Washington,
DC, and one of the featured topics will be instructional materials. The registration
deadline is August 8. For more information visit the AEP
Get Involved webpage. Child Online Protection
Act (COPA) COPA, which was enacted in 1998 to protect
children from inappropriate content on the web, has never been enforced due to
lawsuits and injunctions brought by free speech and civil rights groups. On July
22 the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ban on the law stating it
is, "vague, overly broad, and unconstitutional." According to Daily
Tech, the court feels that implementing filters on an individual basis rather
than criminalizing offenders is more effective. The injunction was first upheld
in 1998, and after this last appeal the government must petition the Supreme Court
to have the ban overturned. "Appeals
Court Confirms: COPA Unconstitutional" Daily Tech |