Sen. Herb Kohl Introduces Public Education Reinvestment, Reinvention & Responsiblity Act

With Congress set to begin debate of the wide-ranging Elementary & Secondary Education Act, U.S. Senator Herb Kohl and a coalition of moderate Senate Democrats have introduced a comprehensive proposal to streamline federal education programs, give more flexibility to local school districts, require real accountability for results, and boost funding for programs that have proven effective.

Initial estimates indicate that Wisconsin would benefit through significant increases in funding for Title I, teacher quality, and limited English proficiency programs.

"I strongly support the notion that the federal government must continue to be a partner with states and local educators as we strive to improve public schools," Kohl said. "However, addressing problems in education is going to take more than cosmetic reform. We are going to have to take a fresh look at the structure of federal education programs. We need to let go of the tired partisan fighting over more spending versus block grants and take a middle ground approach that will truly help our states, school districts – and most importantly, our students."

The Public Education Reinvestment, Reinvention and Responsibility Act – or "Three R's" – will give voice to a moderate and effective plan to continue the federal government's partnership with states and local school districts, and bridge the gap between the divergent Republican and Democratic approaches to education funding.

The "Three R's" bill bolsters federal education funding by $35 billion over five years.

"We believe that states and local school districts are in the best position to know what their educational needs are. They should be given more flexibility to determine how they will use federal dollars to meet those needs," Kohl said.

"And we believe that in exchange for this increased flexibility, there must also be accountability for results."

In terms of federal education funding for Wisconsin under Kohl's bill, initial estimates for the State of Wisconsin indicate that Title I, which serves disadvantaged students, would increase from $119 million in fiscal year 2000 to $176 million.

Programs to improve teacher quality would increase from $21 million to $25 million over the fiscal year. And programs to assist students with limited English proficiency would increase to more than $6.7 million a year.

Kohl sought comments and suggestions from groups in Wisconsin as the "Three R's" bill was being drafted, including from WEAC, Wisconsin State Superintendent John Benson, the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Spence Korte, the Wisconsin Federation of Teachers, the School Administrators Alliance, and Dean Charles Read from the UW-Madison School of Education. Kohl said he looks forward to continuing to work with these groups as the bill moves through the legislative process.

The Senate sponsors of the bill, led by Sens. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) and Evan Bayh (D-IN), also include Sens. John Breaux (D-LA), Bob Graham (D-FL), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Charles Robb (D-VA) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR).

It is likely that Congress will begin debating the Elementary & Secondary Education Act within the next several weeks.

"The `Three R's' bill represents a real middle-ground approach to elementary and secondary education. We have had bipartisan interest in the bill and believe that ... Congress will pass legislation that looks very much like our bill," Kohl said.

Posted March 22, 2000