Contact: Ernie Blazar 202.224.7627 Shana Stribling 224.0309
Tuesday, December 18, 2001

WASHINGTON - Senator Kit Bond said American students won a "huge victory" today when the Senate adopted the new, landmark education bill, which contains many reforms sought by Bond. The bill reflects reforms Kit Bond has sought since 1998: the consolidation of duplicative federal programs; greater local flexibility; and requiring that 95 percent of federal formula block grants be spent at the local level.

"This is a revolution in education policy because it finally puts local students ahead of the federal bureaucracy," said Bond, a member of the Senate's education committee who helped negotiate this Senate-House compromise legislation. "It sends the right message that Washington trusts local teachers more than its own bureaucrats."

Bond has fought hard for the last several years to cut bureaucracy and paperwork requirements and to steer federal money and more authority to local schools and away from education bureaucrats in Washington. He helped begin this debate by introducing his "Direct Check for Education" bill in early 1999. Earlier this year, he joined the Senate education committee to push his reform ideas.

The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) also boosts the role of parents in the education of their children. The legislation includes resources for the Parents As Teachers (PAT) programs by requiring that 30% of Parental Assistance and Family Information Center grant funds be used to support and expand PAT -- a program long supported by Bond going back to his days as Missouri governor -- or other early childhood parent education programs.

Other highlights of the bill:

*Local Flexibility and Less Bureaucracy - Every local school district in America would immediately receive the freedom to transfer up to 50% of the non-Title 1 federal dollars they receive among an assortment of programs. Local school districts would not need to obtain permission before transferring funds.

*Emphasis on Literacy - Triples federal funding for reading programs from $300 million in FY 2002 to $900 million in FY 2002 to ensure that all children are skilled readers by the end of the third grade. A companion initiative to Reading First, Early Reading First will enhance reading readiness for children in high poverty areas, and where there are high numbers of students who are not reading at grade level.

*Teacher Quality - Allows local districts to use federal funds as they see fit to hire teachers, improve teacher training or give merit pay to reward and keep good teachers.