Vote Pro-Family & Pro-Life !


EDUCATION

CFMC supports local control of public educational institutions directly accountable to parental and locally elected Board of Education authority.  In addition CFMC opposes the general exclusion of non-secular instruction from public learning; CFMC supports equal access as afforded by the First Amendment Free Exercise Clause. CFMC opposes the state and federal imposition of outcome based "reforms" tied to promises of greater education funding.  CFMC also opposes attempts by an elite educational establishment to presume their authority as civil servants supersedes parental morals and authority. 

The federal role in education at one time was constitutional: it had none. However things changed in the 1930s when the New Deal brought increasing federal involvement. Later, under President Eisenhower, Congress created the cabinet-level Department of Health, Education and Welfare. In 1965, Lyndon Johnson rammed through Congress the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which vastly expanded federal involvement.

In 1976, candidate Jimmy Carter with the backing of the National Education Association (NEA) push forward to create the bureaucracy we know as the US Education Department. President Carter, facing a liberal challenge from Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), set about to make good on his promise. But there was strong opposition from the American Federation of Teachers, from much of higher education, and from the general public. The AFL-CIO attacked the idea and even the Washington Post argued that bureaucratic costs would increase. It's time to disestablish the US Education Department and the renewal of local spirit.

The US Department of Education launched a series of events to encourage greater family and community involvement in learning. While it is surely odd for an Administration that opposes parental choice in education to lead such an effort, this public relations blitz -- or at least the research that under girds it -- truly deserves wide attention.

Families exert far more influence over their children's intellectual development than is commonly realized. In fact, more than three decades of research shows that families have greater influence over a child's academic performance than any other factor -- including schools.

The bureaucratic waste and restructuring agenda of Goals 2000 are just the beginning of the argument against this legislation that will radically change American education. Its ten titles contain dozens of problem areas that warrant the repeal of Goals 2000. This title codifies eight national education goals. Six were agreed to in 1990 by governors and President Bush following the Charlottesville education summit. The other two goals, parental participation and teacher education, were added as bait to sell the Goals 2000 legislation to interest groups, such as teacher unions and the PTA, which supposedly represent the views of teachers and parents.

The concept of national education goals is based on faulty logic. If the federal government is setting goals, that presupposes that it has the authority and ability to ensure the accomplishment of the goals. Reaching national education goals will require an unprecedented federal intrusion in schools.

Had the goals been popularly developed and had Americans asked for federal supervision in achieving them, Goals 2000 might be procedurally, if not philosophically, a legitimate plan. They did not and it is not. Goal 8 (parental participation) and title IV (Parental Assistance) assume that schools and parents have equal authority over and responsibility for children. The legislation denies the fact that parents' authority over their children is intrinsic and that schools have only a delegated authority.

To improve family life and help parents, Goals 2000 suggests more programming, more meetings, more time at school and with school personnel, and more home visits from professionals. All of this leaves less time for parents and children to spend together.

With their Goals 2000 grants, states must spend money on "parent education." Parents as Teachers (PAT), which advocates home visits by counselors beginning at birth, is one of the programs specifically endorsed by the law. Not only are states encouraged to use their "parent education" money to fund PAT programs, but the objectionable organization was directly appropriated $10 million under Goals 2000 for FY 1995. The House Education, Labor, HHS Subcommittee for Appropriations is to be commended for targeting this program for termination. Its rationale for proposing cuts to parent education programs is that "these are the very paternalistic and 'government knows best' programs that the American people rejected last year."

Health education, which includes sex education, has already been a major source of grief to parents. Advancing these programs will undoubtedly lead to an increase in challenges to parental authority. How, indeed, can children keep their mind on arithmetic when they are exposed to sex in a big way? From kindergarten on, many children are learning the ABC's of sexuality, taught in a "morally neutral" manner in state-mandated programs.

Midnight Basketball was originally a private sector plan. There is no need for government to get involved in these charitable efforts and regulate them to death.

Education reform calls for a reduction in the role of the federal government in the system and a return to the traditional role of school: teaching students basics like reading, writing, and arithmetic. A decisive first step will be the repeal of Goals 2000, which subverts education reform with more federal regulation and spending.

CFMC is an independent coalition of families located in Southern Maryland.
CFMC is NOT sponsored by any Church or religious institution.