James M. Jeffords: “I join my colleague from Massachusetts in urging everyone to vote for the Gorton amendment. However, I urge them to vote…”

“I join my colleague from Massachusetts in urging everyone to vote for the Gorton amendment. However, I urge them to vote no on the Daschle amendment. The distinguished minority leader has offered objections to S. 2, and we agree that it is not perfect, but S. 2 does ensure that the Federal Government provides leadership and support in areas where there is a critical need for help. These areas include title I, education for the disadvantaged; safe and drug-free schools; bilingual education; and education technology, to name a few. S. 2 maintains and strengthens the title I reform process begun in 1994 with the enactment of the last ESEA reauthorization which required the establishment of high standards and the development and implementation of assessments designed to measure progress towards those standards. The deadline for adopting standards was 1998, and the deadline for adopting assessments is in the school year 2001-2002. A bipartisan group of educators, known as the Independent Review Panel, which was created under the 1994 law to review federally funded elementary and secondary education programs, said in their report, released last year, that standards driven reform should be given a chance to fully take hold while the Nation continues to assess progress in student performance.”