Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 10:47:52 -0500
From: Michael Lach <mikelach@SPRINTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Science 8/4: Ehlers Bill Wins Bipartisan Backing
Some news on science education from DC...
SCIENCE EDUCATION:
Ehlers Bill Wins Bipartisan Backing
Jeffrey Mervis
A House panel has unanimously endorsed a major bipartisan initiative to
improve math and science education in U.S. elementary and secondary schools.
The bill would authorize nearly $100 million a year for several new programs
to be run by the National Science Foundation (NSF), a sizable addition to
its current $275 million budget for precollege education.
Last week's 36-0 vote by the House Science Committee also marks a milestone
in a 2-year effort by Representative Vern Ehlers (R-MI) to translate
recommendations from his 1998 report on the future of U.S. science into
concrete programs (Science, 21 April, p. 419). Getting Congress to pay for
the initiative, however, is still a long shot.
"We've gotten to first base," said an exultant Ehlers about the bill, H.R.
4271. A companion bill introduced by Ehlers that proposes changes in the
Department of Education's science programs is moving more slowly, however,
and a third component, granting tax credits to teachers, has been blocked by
House leaders.
The key provision in the NSF bill would create a $50-million-a-year program
to pay the salaries of "master" science and math teachers in elementary and
middle schools across the country. These experienced teachers would be freed
of classroom duties to help improve curricula, coordinate labs and other
hands-on activities, and conduct after-hours professional training. Having
ready access to such a person, Ehlers says, can be a great help to an
inexperienced teacher uncomfortable with science: "The idea of master
teachers was the one element that everybody thought was essential as I
talked to people about the bill."
Other provisions would fund scholarships for undergraduate science majors
who promise to teach for at least 2 years, computer training for those
already in the classroom, summer and after-school research grants, and
competitions for public-private partnerships that would foster distance
learning, strengthen community colleges, and promote the involvement of
women and underrepresented minorities. Two provisions were first proposed as
stand-alone bills by Democrats, who Ehlers went to great lengths to
accommodate in crafting the legislation.
Given its bipartisan nature, the authorization bill stands a reasonable
chance of winning House approval before Congress adjourns in early October,
although its prospects in the Senate are uncertain. A bigger obstacle will
be convincing a separate spending panel, led by Representative James Walsh
(R-NY), to insert the necessary funds in NSF's budget. "Talk is cheap," said
committee chair James Sensenbrenner (R-WI). "What counts is getting the
money." Representative Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), who stands to become
science committee chair should the Republicans retain control of the House
and Sensenbrenner ascend to head the more prestigious Judiciary committee,
admitted that he's failed in the past to win funds for education bills. But
he promised, half in jest, to "lead a march" on Walsh's house to persuade
him to allocate the additional funds.