NATION IN BRIEF : FLORIDA : ‘Bill of Rights’ for Children Urged

Problem families should get as much attention as problem schools in efforts to reform education, the head of the nation’s largest teachers’ union said. Keith Geiger made his remarks at the opening of the National Education Assn.’s annual convention in Miami Beach, Fla. Geiger said he planned to send President Bush and Congress copies of a proposed “children’s bill of rights” aimed at assuring that youngsters come to school healthy enough to learn. The proposed rights include adequate nutrition, medical care, a secure place to live, quality education and safeguards from abuse and discrimination.