Positions and Views of Mike Crapo
on Education
| Currently Elected United States Senator, Idaho |
|
|
 |
| Education |
Positions and Views |
| Education, a General Statement |
In Congress, I have consistently worked to enact laws that achieve increased support for public education and preserve decision-making authority for states, local communities and especially local school boards. It is important that we provide a strong foundation for education, as is referenced in the above quote. However, there is a proper role for federal support of education.
The federal government can provide resources, research, incentives and direct support for needed educational objectives. Programs like Headstart, IDEA, Impact Aid, EPSCoR, vocational-technical education and child nutrition programs are just a few of the important successes we have achieved in this arena.
I will continue to be a strong advocate of these and other programs that solve problems and produce results for communities in Idaho and throughout our nation.
Source: crapo.senate.gov/issues (01/11/2011) |
| No Child Left Behind Act, a General Statement |
On January 8, 2002, President Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act. This law reflects the President's initiative to reform the nation's elementary and secondary education practices.
Although NCLB contains important consolidations of overlapping programs and significant expansion of the federal financial commitment to public education, it does not sufficiently recognize state and local autonomy. The accountability provisions in NCLB place the federal government in a position to dominate policy and curriculum management in our public schools. The federal government should not gravitate toward the role of being a national school board supervising our local schools. As always, I remain opposed to one-size-fits-all national solutions to local issues, including education. State and local officials know what is best for their students and community, and it is the federal government's job to listen to that advice and act on it.
I know serious concerns remain in the education community about NCLB, and I support efforts to make meaningful, effective changes to it. I continue to work both legislatively and administratively to significantly increase the flexibility for states and local school districts under NCLB. I support the four reforms identified in Senate Joint Memorial No. 108 recently passed by the Idaho State Legislature. The first would allow determinations of "adequate yearly progress" to be made based on individual student growth from one year to the next. This is a common sense approach to ensuring each child is learning, while acknowledging that, while every child can learn, not every child learns at the same pace or in the same way. The second would limit options for choice and supplementary services to targeted subgroups of students who fail to achieve adequate yearly progress rather than to all children in a school. Next, states must be permitted latitude to identify failing schools for two consecutive years in the same subgroup and for the s [Response was truncated to maximum response length of 2000 characters.]
Source: Candidate Website (10/02/2004) |
| Public Schools K-12 |
In Congress, I have consistently worked to enact laws that achieve increased support for public education and preserve decision-making authority for states, local communities and especially local school boards. It is important that we provide a strong foundation for education, as is referenced in the above quote. However, there is a proper role for federal support of education.
The federal government can provide resources, research, incentives and direct support for needed educational objectives. Programs like Headstart, IDEA, Impact Aid, EPSCoR, vocational-technical education and child nutrition programs are just a few of the important successes we have achieved in this arena.
Source: crapo.senate.gov/issues (01/11/2011) |
| Local Control Over Education |
In Congress, I have consistently worked to enact laws that achieve increased support for public education and preserve decision-making authority for states, local communities and especially local school boards. It is important that we provide a strong foundation for education, as is referenced in the above quote. However, there is a proper role for federal support of education.
Source: crapo.senate.gov/issues (01/11/2011) |
| Improving Education |
In Congress, I have consistently worked to enact laws that achieve increased support for public education and preserve decision-making authority for states, local communities and especially local school boards. It is important that we provide a strong foundation for education, as is referenced in the above quote. However, there is a proper role for federal support of education.
The federal government can provide resources, research, incentives and direct support for needed educational objectives. Programs like Headstart, IDEA, Impact Aid, EPSCoR, vocational-technical education and child nutrition programs are just a few of the important successes we have achieved in this arena.
I will continue to be a strong advocate of these and other programs that solve problems and produce results for communities in Idaho and throughout our nation.
Source: crapo.senate.gov/issues (01/11/2011) |
| Student Loans, Scholarships and Pell Grants |
As the cost of college tuition continues to rise, it is becoming increasingly difficult for families to pay for these expenses. In order to meet the needs of a competitive job market, the importance of providing youth with the opportunity to enhance their education has grown tremendously.
The maximum Pell grant has increased from $3,000 in 1998 to $4,050 in the Senate-passed version of the fiscal year (FY) 2004 Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill. This is a 35 percent increase in just five years. In addition, President Bush has proposed increasing the maximum grant by $500 over the next five years.
In addition, each year the federal government issues over $30 billion in student loans. Congress works with bank lenders, guarantors, students, parents, and college administration officers to make the loan program more effective, efficient, and accessible to students. In addition to loans, millions of dollars in educational grants and scholarships are awarded to students throughout the country.
I will continue to work in a fiscally responsible manner to ensure educational programs receive the funding they need to best serve Idaho's students.
Source: Candidate Website (10/02/2004) |
| Head Start |
The federal government can provide resources, research, incentives and direct support for needed educational objectives. Programs like Headstart are just a few of the important successes we have achieved in this arena.
Source: crapo.senate.gov/issues (01/11/2011) |
| Adult Education |
The federal government can provide resources, research, incentives and direct support for needed educational objectives. Programs like vocational-technical education are just a few of the important successes we have achieved in this arena.
Source: crapo.senate.gov/issues (01/11/2011) |
| Federal Funding of Private Schools |
Impact Aid
Since 1950, Congress has provided financial assistance to federally impacted school districts through the Impact Aid Program. The federal government plays a vital role in ensuring that all students receive a quality education. Working closely with state and local governments, the Impact Aid program is able to serve approximately 1.6 million federally-connected students. In Idaho, Impact Aid provides assistance to thirty-five districts and, last year, allocated over $5.3 million through the program.
I recognize the importance of Impact Aid funding for Idaho. In past congresses I have introduced legislation to strengthen federal Impact Aid by increasing per-student compensation for off-base military children and civilian dependant children. As a member of the Senate Impact Aid Coalition, I will continue to vote to increase funding for federally impacted schools.
Source: Candidate Website (10/02/2004) |
| Art and Music |
The arts play a vital role in improving the quality of cultural and educational life for everyone in America.
Art opens one sense to the perceptivity of another - a transformative experience that touches the soul. Those in our communities who use their creativity and encourage others to pursue creative expression contribute to our society and lives in ways for which credit is rarely or adequately given.
I support the arts and have been very proud of the work done in Idaho to expand the education and appreciation of the multiple and varied art forms practiced across the state. I will continue to work to ensure funding for the arts in Idaho.
Source: crapo.senate.gov/issues (01/11/2011) |
| School Safety |
We have seen an explosion in the availability of illegal drugs and criminal activity in many parts of the country. We want our families to live in safe communities, attend schools where violence and illegal drugs have no place and patronize businesses that adhere to a code of ethics.
Source: crapo.senate.gov/issues (01/11/2011) |
| Drugs in Schools |
We have seen an explosion in the availability of illegal drugs and criminal activity in many parts of the country. We want our families to live in safe communities, attend schools where violence and illegal drugs have no place and patronize businesses that adhere to a code of ethics.
Source: crapo.senate.gov/issues (01/11/2011) |
| These are available issue topics for which there were no responses. |
| Sex Education and Birth Control Options |
| Evolution and Intelligent Design Education |
| Gay and Lesbian Orientation Education |
| Religion in Public Schools |
| "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance |
| Teacher Textbook Selection |
| Private School Vouchers |
| Charter Schools |
| Standardized Testing |
| Teacher Tenure |
| Higher Education |
| Education Tax Credits |
| Teacher Unions |
| Department of Education |
| Pre-School |
| High Schools |
| Dropouts |
| Community Colleges |
| Classroom Size |
| Extended Learning Time |
| After-School Programs |
| Parental Involvement |
| Computers in Schools |
| Federal Mandates |
| No Child Left Behind Act Federal Funding Level |
| Teacher Pay |
| Teacher Standards |
| Student Standards |
| National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) |
| Education Global Superiority |
| Junk Food Vending Machines in Public Schools |
| Education Gap with Other Countries |
| School Choice |
| Home Schooling |
| Special Education |
| Magnet Schools |
| Rural Schools |
| Summer School |
| Boy-Girl Achievement Gap |
| Black-White Achievement Gap |
| Title IX 'Equal Opportunities for Girls' |
| Bilingual Education |
| Math and Science |