Steve Buyer: “we face a crisis in American education today. Forty percent of all 10 year olds can't meet basic literacy standards.…”

“we face a crisis in American education today. Forty percent of all 10 year olds can't meet basic literacy standards. United States eighth-graders recently placed 28th in the world in math and science skills. Two thousand acts of violence take place in schools each day, and almost a third of today's college freshmen require some remedial instructions. The education initiatives Republicans are bringing to the House floor in the next few days are an excellent start toward solutions of these problems. Education savings accounts [ESA's] give middle- and low-income parents new education choices--public and private--to educate their children in safe and nurturing environments. Families or individuals earning less than $95,000 a year would be eligible to contribute up to $2,500 annually into an account for a child's educational needs while at public, private, religious or home schools--from kindergarten through college. The buildup of the interest within that account is tax free and the savings from that account can be used for tuition, tutoring, transportation, equipment, services for kids with special needs, home computers, uniforms, books and supplies, and SAT preparation or enrollment expenses related to sending a child to a public school in a neighborhood district. It has been estimated that around 14.3 million families--about 10.8 million of which are families whose children attend public school-- would benefit from these accounts by 2002.…”