PRETTY QUICK ON THE UPTAKE, EH?

New Federal Rule Tightens Demands on Failing Schools (DIANA JEAN SCHEMO, November 27, 2002, NY Times)

Children attending public schools deemed failing under a new federal law have to be offered transfers to better schools, regardless of whether those schools are already full, according to final regulations released today by the federal Education Department.

The new regulations, which are more stringent than expected, could leave hundreds of districts scrambling for alternative places for children who want to transfer out of poorly functioning schools.

The new regulations do not oblige school districts to adopt specific solutions. At a news conference here today, Education Department officials said that schools might consider signing contracts with neighboring districts to accept students from failing schools, hiring more teachers or building new classrooms at more successful schools.

But critics suggested the administration was quietly paving the way for vouchers to private schools as the answer when districts could come up with nothing else.

After two years folks are finally starting to figure out just how tenacious this President is in pursuing his goals. Even Ted Kennedy had figured out shortly after the bill was signed that Mr. Bush was just pursuing the vouchers through the regulatory process. Why it took the Times so long to figure out we'll leave it to you to determine. Posted by Orrin Judd at November 27, 2002 8:40 PM