Highlights of Vice President’s $16-Billion Education Plan
Details of Vice President Al Gore’s teacher accountability proposal:
* Establish an $8-billion, 10-year fund for salary increases of up to $5,000 for qualified teachers, available only to school districts that agree on a plan for improving--and, failing that, firing--teachers who do not meet national standards.
* Raise standards for tenure to incorporate how a teacher’s students perform.
* Set up a separate $8-billion fund to provide signing bonuses, scholarships and college aid aimed at recruiting 1 million new teachers.
Gore also would establish new prerequisites for Title I federal money targeted for poor children and given to states:
* By 2004, states must make sure every teacher is fully certified, with middle and high school teachers also required to demonstrate expertise in the subjects they teach.
* New teachers must pass “rigorous assessments, including tests of their subject matter and teaching proficiency.”
* New elementary school teachers must be tested to ensure they know how to teach reading.
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