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.