WASHINGTON -- School districts could be compelled to help children transfer to a better public school under a new provision in an education spending bill.
The measure would not approve public funding of vouchers for private schooling."School choice is finally poised to become a reality for thousands of students stuck in substandard learning environments," said Rep. Bill Goodling, R-Pa., who announced Wednesday that congressional and White House budget negotiators agreed to include the public school choice program in the fiscal 2000 spending for the Education Department.
Congress is expected to approve the measure as part of a huge, $390 billion budget package as early as this week.
The Education Department would get $134 million to help districts meet the new requirement that they give parents a choice if their child is in a school deemed failing by the state, said Goodling, chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
The fund is the first to be targeted to districts for failing schools, say Clinton administration officials. Currently, however, there is no specific requirement that a district offer the public school choice option to parents whose children are in failing schools.
The Education Department would establish guidelines and begin distributing the money next summer once the bill is signed by President Clinton.
"This budget not only dramatically increases funding for education, but for the first time it holds failing schools accountable for results," said Bruce Reed, Clinton's domestic policy adviser.
In addition to support for private school vouchers, so-called public-school choice is also rising. In 1993, 5.3 million of the nation's 50 million students, or 11 percent, took advantage of public choice programs such as magnet and charter schools. That number rose to 15 percent to 7.8 million in 1999.
The new provision only applies to children whose schools receive funds under the so-called Title I law. The $8 billion program serves 11 million poor and otherwise disadvantaged schoolchildren. Currently, at least 7,000 elementary, junior high and high schools nationwide are on state lists of Title I schools that are "in need of improvement."
Opponents of the plan fear districts could face an administrative nightmare in accommodating parents rushing to pull their children out of these schools. As public enrollments grow, some schools are already crowded and might not be able to accept other children.
However, Education Department officials said the new funds could help districts unable to transfer students wholesale to apply for a waiver to use the money for programs that would fix failing schools quicker.
"A transfer could be a safety valve under certain circumstances," said Marshall Smith, a deputy to Education Secretary Richard Riley. "But for the most part, we will see a lot of aggressive action on the part of local districts to turn around failing schools in a major way instead of taking partial steps."