Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 4323 - Neighborhood Schools Improvement Act

(House Rules)
(Kildee (D) MI and 11 others)

The Administration strongly opposes H.R. 4323, as reported by the Committee on Education and Labor. If the bill were presented to the President in its current form, his senior advisers would recommend a veto.

H.R. 4323 is objectionable because it:

—   Rejects true reform in favor of a "business as usual" approach. All authority stays in the current system. The true proponents of reform — parents, governors, business — are relegated to advisory roles. Further, almost anything related to education could be funded, whether or not it improves achievement or promotes accountability.

—   Fails to provide families with more choice among all schools. H.R. 4323 ignores the President's and the Nation's desire to expand the range of choices available to the parents of all children. At the very least, the bill should authorize use of Federal funds to support State and local choice programs that allow middle- and low-income parents to select among all schools, private as well as public. Such language was supported by the Administration and was included in the bipartisan Committee-passed version of H.R. 3320, the predecessor bill to H.R. 4323.

—   Fails to require implementation of a new generation of "break-the-mold" New American Schools, reflecting the best of what is known about teaching, learning, and educational technology. H.R. 4323 merely lists New American public schools as one of a number of allowable activities and does not ensure that any grant funds will be used to support break-the-mold schools.

—   Fails to give schools and teachers needed flexibility in return for increased accountability. The Administration sought broad regulatory flexibility. In contrast, H.R. 4323 contains only a demonstration program that is far too limited in terms of: (1) eligibility; (2) Federal programs included; and (3) the number of States and schools that could qualify.

—   Inappropriately requires the National Education Goals Panel to certify national standards in policy areas that are fundamental State and local responsibilities. H.R. 4323 would require the Goals Panel to develop and certify national school delivery standards purportedly to ensure _ that students have a fair opportunity to meet the national curriculum content standards. The items described in H.R. 4323 as "school delivery standards" deal with such policy issues as curriculum, facilities, and teaching requirements. These are properly the responsibility of the States and local school systems.

—   Fails to promote a voluntary national system of assessments. H.R. 4323 fails to establish as a responsibility of the Goals Panel the certification of criteria for assessments linked to the voluntary national content standards. Authorizing the development of content standards without providing for the development of assessments will diminish the quality of the content standards and delay their impact.

—   Fails to prohibit use of funds for birth control and abortion counseling. H.R. 4323 would permit funds under the proposed Neighborhood Schools Improvement Act to be used for the "coordination" of health, rehabilitation, and social services with education. The Administration supports the goal of providing various social services in a single location where feasible and appropriate. However, the bill must explicitly prohibit the use of funds under the Act to support school-based clinics that provide birth control or abortion counseling services.

Other objectionable provisions in the bill are described in the Attachment.

Administration-Supported Amendments

The Administration urges that the following amendments, which it strongly supports, be considered in order:

—   A Goodling substitute, substantially based on the President's AMERICA 2000 proposal, that would: (1) authorize a separate program for New American Schools; (2j assist States and educators in developing a voluntary system of reliable, valid, and fair standards and assessments; (3) permit more flexibility to teachers and principals in spending Federal funds, in return for increased accountability for improved educational achievement; and (4) permit the use of Federal funds to implement public and private school choice programs.

—   An Armey substitute for the Neighborhood Schools Improvement Program component of H.R. 4323 that would: (1) require a substantial portion of this new program's funds to be used for programs of public and private school choice; (2) help ensure that funds are spent only on actual reform activities such as New American Schools and Merit Schools; and (3) enhance the role of the Governors and the Secretary of Education in promoting comprehensive educational reform.

Scoring for Purposes of Pay-As-You-Go

The two provisions of H.R. 4323 which affect child nutrition programs would increase direct spending; therefore, the bill is subject to the pay-as-you-go requirements of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA). A budget point of order applies in both the Senate and House against any bill that is not fully offset under CBO scoring. If, contrary to the Administration's recommendation, the House waives any such point of order that applies against H.R. 4323, the effect of enactment of this legislation would be included in a look-back pay-as-you- go sequester report at the end of the congressional session.

OMB's preliminary scoring estimates of the child nutrition program provisions are presented in the table below. Final scoring of this legislation may deviate from these estimates, if H.R. 4323 were enacted, final OMB scoring estimates would be published within five days of enactment, as required by OBRA. The cumulative effect of all enacted legislation on direct spending will be issued in monthly reports transmitted to Congress.

ESTIMATES FOR PAY-AS-YOU-GO
(outlays in millions)

Attachment

Other Objectionable Provisions

The Administration also opposes provisions of H.R. 4323 that would:

—   Establish an unnecessary new grant program for the development of voluntary national content standards. National content standards in mathematics have already been developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Much work is underway to develop other voluntary national content standards (in science, geography, history, civics, and the arts) under existing authorities. Establishing a new grant program will only duplicate work already done and delay the development of useful standards.

—   Raise a constitutional problem. Secs. 8011(b)(3) and 8012(b)(3) would appear to bind the Secretary of Education to carry out recommendations for Federal grants made by the National Education Goals Panel. The exercise of such authority is inappropriate because most panel members are not officers of the United States and therefore may not perform such a significant government duty.

—   Delay implementing the cost saving Coordinated Review Effort (CRE) for a full year. The CRE is a Federal-State cooperative monitoring system for child nutrition programs. CRE reviews ensure that local school districts are providing school lunch and breakfast programs efficiently and effectively.