Dan Coats: “What Senator Dole said today in Minneapolis was that this country needs education reform, not education reform as…”

“What Senator Dole said today in Minneapolis was that this country needs education reform, not education reform as defined by this administration and by some in this Congress, but real education reform. Education reform that ensures that parents have authority to be involved in their children's education, and in their curriculum, and in the formation of educational programs for their children. Education reform that would break up the monopoly that dominates public education. Education reform that gets money into the classroom instead of the bureaucracy. Education reform that rewards teachers, and rewards the Governors who run effective programs, and rewards mayors and school boards. Education reforms that try new approaches, and education reform that loosens Washington's grip on this country's schools. For a decade or more now, the Congress and the public have been debating how we can improve our public education system, and a number of proposals have been made. But there is an entrenched bureaucracy that insists on making no real changes, on perpetuating the status quo.”