Here we go again. George Bush described himself as the “education president” a few years back, and now President Bill Clinton seeks to top him at his game. During the 1997 State of the Union address, Clinton forwarded a number of education proposals, all which have special implications for those who could be described as “educationally disadvantaged.” At the same time, the light-touch federal approach that Mr. Clinton has suggested may mean that some states will embrace his educational reforms with more fervor than others.
Higher education benefits most from the tax credit of $1500 that President Clinton has pledged to provide, along with the tax deduction of $10,000 for college tuition. To address concerns that these credits and deductions do little for the low income, the President has also proposed expanded Pell grants for lower-income students. Further, the president’s exhortation that every student who wants to should have a college education, especially through the community college system, is a good one. But the HOPE scholarships he proposes may not offer sufficient resources to move every student to higher education.
The higher education pipeline benefits from efforts to improve K-12 education, with proposals that range from the certification of 100,000 more “master teachers to the enlistment of a million volunteer tutors. Given the physical organization of inner city schools, school construction is a laudable goal for an administration that has targeted so many dollars toward prison constructions. Less laudable is the expansion of charter schools in the name of “choice.” How will these chatter schools be funded? What will they teach? Are there tax implications for this form of educational organization?
The State of the Union Address, though, was vintage Clinton. There was fluff and rhetoric, but also a set of solid proposals in his speech. His goals–that every child be able to read by the third grade, that every home and classroom be connected to the Internet by the year 2000, and that the communications potential of the Internet include hospitals and other sites–are important.
