Round One: The Debate in Boston
Bush Offered Hope...And Today He Offers Hope To Parents
I'd like to thank the city of Boston and the Presidential Commission for the opportunity to share my vision last night of an America that empowers people not Washington D.C. Now that the first debate is behind us, voters will know more what the next four years will be like under a President George W. Bush or a President Gore.
I trust workers to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes, I trust families to spend their own money, and I trust parents to be in charge of their children's education.
Today, I'm sharing with the people my "Tools for Parents".
It's a series of initiatives designed to prevent children from being robbed of their childhood. These initiatives will reform education, reduce the influence of a culture that is sometimes too harmful to children, and prevent drug abuse by giving parents practical tools to have more control over their child's development.
Today, I will focus on tools that will reform America's public schools by restoring order and discipline in the classroom, helping to nurture good character and citizenship, and giving parents more choices in their child's education.
To give parents more choices in their child's education, I will:
Arm parents with more information about their child's progress through school-by-school Report cards published on the Internet
Double the number of charter schools
Expand education savings accounts
Increase the maximum amount of the Pell grant for low-income students
Allow funds to be withdrawn tax free to pay for education expenses from kindergarten through college
Empower parents with expanded and enriched after-school programs.
To restore school safety and discipline, I will:
Enact the "teacher protection act" protecting teachers against meritless lawsuits when they enforce discipline,
Implement a zero tolerance policy on violence and classroom disruption.
Prosecute juveniles who carry or use guns and the adults who provide them through "Project Sentry."
Allow parents to transfer their children out of persistently dangerous schools to safe schools.
To help nurture good character and citizenship, I will:
Triple funding for character education
Spend at least as much on abstinence education as on teen contraception programs.
The debate was a great chance to share my vision... I look forward to sharing more with you, here and in-person across this great land.
(10/04/00)
Message of the Day from George W. Bush
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