Edwards rolls out education policy

DES MOINES Iowa

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards rolled out a program for reforming primary education in the United States on Friday, proposing to pay teachers up to $15,000 more in high poverty areas and initiating universal preschool.

Edwards was to detail the proposals, which also include longer school years and reforming No Child Left Behind, later in the day in a speech at a Des Moines middle school.

In a copy of his policy statement provided to The Associated Press, Edwards said giving all children an equal chance to get a quality education is a commitment that is at the core of his plan to build One America “where everyone has a chance to succeed.”

He said schools are still separate and unequal 50 years after a Supreme Court ruling required desegregation in public schools.

“No longer legally separated by race, our children are sorted by economics, often with a racial or ethnic dimension. At the same time, our children are preparing for unprecedented global economic competition,” Edwards said in the policy statement.

He criticized the Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind law, saying it’s not working and needs a radical overhaul.