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Republicans drafted a party platform for adoption at their national convention in New York City this week that reflects in language and spirit the stamp that George W. Bush first placed on the GOP鈥檚 education positions four years ago.
At the same time, it includes a reiteration of traditional party stances on such issues as school choice and school prayer.
The document as it stood late last week offers a resounding defense of the far-reaching No Child Left Behind Act, which President Bush made one of his top domestic priorities and signed into law in 2002.
鈥淚t was the most significant overhaul of federal education policy since 1965,鈥� a draft of the platform says, calling the law 鈥渁 promise kept to parents, students, teachers, and every American.鈥�
Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, Mr. Bush鈥檚 Democratic opponent in the presidential race, has joined teachers鈥� union leaders and some state and local education officials in criticizing the law as inflexible and underfunded. Mr. Kerry, who voted for the measure, has softened his tone on the law since the primary season. (鈥淜erry Aiming for the Center on Education,鈥� Aug. 11, 2004.)
The Republicans鈥� draft platform attempts to rebut criticisms by noting overall increases in federal education spending since President Bush took office. And it reflects a belief that the party stands to gain considerable political capital from the federal school improvement law.
鈥淩epublicans have transformed the debate on education,鈥� the draft says. 鈥淲e are the party parents can trust to improve schools and provide opportunity for all children, in every neighborhood, regardless of background or income. We are the party willing to embrace new ideas and put them to the test.鈥�
The drafting of party platforms sometimes produces intense debates, traditionally on social issues such as abortion. But U.S. Rep. Phil English of Pennsylvania, the chairman of a Republican platform subcommittee, called education a 鈥渃onsensus issue鈥� and said there was general unity in how the party thought about the No Child Left Behind Act and other issues.
The platform 鈥渨ill also tell a story that we don鈥檛 always feel has been told,鈥� Rep. English said in an interview last week as the document was still being hammered out.
The draft platform calls for extending the reforms at the heart of the No Child Left Behind Act 鈥渦p and down the education ladder,鈥� from early-childhood education to the transition from high school to college. It also credits the president with having taken steps to improve college affordability鈥攁n issue on which Democrats have been sharply critical of the administration.
Core GOP Themes
The document also highlights several education ideas that have been party orthodoxy for years. It notes presidential and Republican congressional support for the expansion of parental choice through charter schools and the creation of the nation鈥檚 first federally financed voucher program, a pilot program in the District of Columbia.
The document also says the party will continue to support 鈥渧oluntary student-initiated prayer in school鈥� without governmental interference鈥攍anguage almost identical to the 2000 platform鈥攁nd access to public schools by religious groups. Both the Democratic and Republican platforms typically serve as symbolic documents that have little bearing on the party nominees鈥� campaign agendas. But they nonetheless reflect principles that guide the parties and their loyalists.
The Republican platform was drafted by party staff members with input from constituents across the country, said Ginny Wolfe, a spokeswoman for the party鈥檚 convention staff. It was then revised by a 110-member platform committee, which was to vote on it late last week and present it to convention delegates on Aug. 30.
Josh Earnest, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, said the Republican platform reflected the party鈥檚 habit of touting large-scale changes in education without supplying the funding or political commitment to make them successful.
For example, while the GOP platform notes that Pell Grant funding has risen to record levels under President Bush, it fails to note that the maximum award has remained stagnant, at $4,050, despite rising college costs, Mr. Earnest said. Republicans likewise overlooked legitimate complaints about the No Child Left Behind law, he said.
鈥淚t continues [Republicans鈥橾 trend of misleading the American public on the impact of the their policies,鈥� Mr. Earnest said. 鈥淭heir record speaks for itself.鈥�
