Thursday June 14 11:43 AM ET
Senate Defeats Education Amendment
By GREG TOPPO, AP Education Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - By the slimmest of margins, the Senate defeated a measure that would have
required schools to discipline special education students in the same fashion as other pupils.
In a 50-50 vote, lawmakers Thursday rejected an amendment by Sen. Jeff Sessions (news - bio - voting record), R-Ala., that would require schools and school districts to implement uniform discipline policies for all children, regardless of whether they are disabled or receiving federal special educational funds. Sessions and other Republicans complained that in some cases, disabled students aren’t punished as severely as others.
Under Senate rules, a tie loses.
“If a child in a wheelchair sells dope, should they be treated any differently than any other child who sells dope?” he asked.
Democrats said the measure would strip valuable protections from some disabled students.
“We’re not going to march backward,” said Sen. Edward Kennedy (news - bio - voting record), D-Mass. “This is a major, major retreat.
The Senate earlier Thursday rejected an amendment by Sen. Tom Harkin (news - bio - voting record), D-Iowa, that would have let schools take the child’s disability into account when determining punishment - if, for instance, a deaf child misbehaved because he or she couldn’t understand a lesson in class.
The Senate expected to put the finishing touches on its version of the education bill, one of President Bush (news - web sites)’s top priorities, by late Thursday. Education Secretary Rod Paige suggested that House and Senate negotiators start a “summer-school session” to reach a final compromise by September “so we can get school started with a smile.”
The House approved its version last month. After senators complete theirs, negotiators must sift through both bills to come up with a compromise on which programs will be included and how much money to authorize for them.
Still pending at midday Thursday were two amendments by Sen. Jesse Helms (news - bio - voting record), R-N.C., that would limit student access to “morning-after” contraceptives in school and block federal funds to public schools that deny the Boy Scouts equal access to school facilities. A similar Boy Scout measure passed the House last month.
The Senate bill survived two challenges Wednesday as senators upheld Bush’s requirement for annual math and reading tests. They also preserved a program that would cut federal regulations for some school systems if their pupils performed better.
The twin votes signaled that Bush’s bipartisan coalition remains intact after last week’s historic midsession Senate shift to a Democratic majority.
Annual math and reading tests for students in the third through eighth grades remain the cornerstone of Bush’s effort to improve student achievement. Sen. Ernest Hollings (news - bio - voting record), D-S.C., led the effort to make them optional. His proposal was roundly rejected, 78-22.
Sen. Christopher Dodd (news - bio - voting record), D-Conn., also tried to modify a demonstration program on flexibility in spending federal money.
As drafted, the Senate bill would permit up to seven states and 25 school districts to seek significant discretion in spending. In exchange, they would agree to set higher standards for student achievement.
Dodd sought to remove a federal after-school program from that arrangement with the argument that the money now set aside for after school shouldn’t be available for other uses.
“There isn’t a parent in America that doesn’t worry where their children are once school lets out,” he said.
If approved for the largest seven states and 25 school districts, Dodd said, the flexibility program could be used by school districts that serve 51 percent of all public school students, giving thousands of schools the option of dumping their after-school programs.
Bush has placed education atop his legislative agenda, but Democrats say they will insist on more money for education than Bush has recommended.
The Senate measure, driven by Democrats’ spending proposals, calls for roughly $15 billion more than Bush proposed for comparable programs in 2002.
“It is frightening how much money has been added in terms of authorizations,” said Sen. Bill Frist (news - bio - voting record), R-Tenn.