In his final State of the Union address, President Bush urged Congress to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act. However, the $300 million proposal for school choice did not receive much enthusiasm from Democrats in Congress. The president suggested a program called "Pell Grants for Kids," which would provide grants to states, school districts, cities, and non-profit organizations to create scholarship programs for low-income students in underperforming schools and high schools with low graduation rates.
Some members of Congress viewed this proposal as another attempt by the Bush administration to secure federal funding for private school vouchers. Representative Mazie Hirono, a Democrat from Hawaii, expressed surprise at the focus on vouchers and stated that it is not a way to support public education.
Last year, President Bush proposed $300 million for "promise" and "opportunity" scholarships in his budget, which would have allowed students in struggling schools to transfer to better-performing schools using federal funds. However, this proposal did not gain support in Congress.
Representative Buck McKeon, a Republican from California, praised the president’s latest idea, saying it would strengthen the No Child Left Behind Act and expand educational opportunities for disadvantaged children. Other Republicans on the House education panel did not share the same enthusiasm for expanded private school choice.
President Bush also called for the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, which has faced disagreements among lawmakers. Some Republicans applauded the law, while only some Democrats showed support. Democratic education committee leaders plan to move forward with reauthorization on their own terms but are open to working with the president.
"It will be a significant political challenge" to reauthorize the measure this year, stated Representative Andrews. "Building this coalition is going to be difficult."
Assistance for Religious Schools
President Bush has additionally issued a call for a White House "summit" meeting focused on inner-city children and religious schools in order to shed light on the limited educational opportunities available to urban students. This gathering would bring together leaders from the national, state, and local levels in education, research, philanthropy, business, and community development to address the obstacles faced by private schools in inner cities, particularly religious schools, as stated in a document outlining the proposal provided by the White House. The closure of religious schools in inner cities due to financial constraints is a growing concern, with the White House document noting that between 1996 and 2004, nearly 1,400 such schools shut down, resulting in the displacement of 355,000 students. The purpose of this event is to identify viable solutions to this issue.
In addition, President Bush will propose an allocation of $800 million in scholarships aimed at aiding students from low-income families to join after-school and summer programs, which may include those operated by religious organizations. Although this proposal was included in the White House’s background paper on the State of the Union, it was not mentioned in the speech itself.