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from NSTA: Straight A's Act; science in Title I



[Forwarded message from NSTA]

Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1999 09:53:12 -0400
From: Jodi Peterson <jodi_p@nsta.org>

NSTA Legislative Update
October 29, 1999

House Passes H.R. 2
On Oct. 21 the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2, the Student Results
Act of 1999 (Title I) by a vote of 358 to 67. The bipartisan bill will
provide $10.8 billion for poor and disadvantaged students. During floor
debate Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-MI) offered an amendment that would require
states to add science to Title I's standards, testing and reporting
requirements by the start of the 2005-2006 school year (currently these
requirements are in place for reading and math.) This amendment passed by a
vote of 360 to 62.
...
During debate on his amendment, which was opposed by Chairman Bill Goodling,
Ehlers said the amendment "is simply saying this (science education) is an
important national priority and one of the subjects we should teach and
which our school systems should assess is the knowledge that students have
acquired in the scientific arena so that we know whether or not we will have
an adequate workforce for the future and so that we will have an adequate
number of scientists and engineers as well." Reps Holt, Woolsey, and Morella
rose in support of Mr. Ehlers' amendment.

House Approves the Straight A's Act
The same evening, by a close vote of 213 to 208 (with 8 Democrats and 5
Republicans absent) the House passed a revised version of the Academic
Achievement for All Act, commonly referred to as Straight A's. Instead of
allowing all states to block grant a number of federal programs, including
the Eisenhower state grants, a last minute amendment offered by Rep. Michael
Castle limits Straight A's to a 10-state pilot program.

The bill gives states the flexibility to determine how to spend funding for
federal programs (Eisenhower, Goals 2000, and Class Size Reduction). States
would enter into a five year performance agreement with the Department of
Education; funds could be used for any educational activity permitted by
state law if states meet specific student achievement goals.

Similar legislation in the Senate (S. 1266) has been introduced, but no
action has been taken.
****************************************

Jane Jackson, Dir., Modeling Workshop Project
Box 871504, Dept.of Physics, ASU, Tempe, AZ 85287
480-965-8438/fax:965-7331. http://modeling.la.asu.edu
Genius must transform the world, that the world may produce more genius.