School Prayer
McCain is in favor of school prayer, and has supported legislation that would allow public schools to erect religious symbols as part of memorial services.
Departing From the No Child Left Behind Act
John McCain would do away with the "sanctions" in the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which force schools that don't improve annual scores to offer tutoring or tickets to another public school.
McCain will also change the NCLB's requirement that 100 percent of the nation's children be proficient in math and reading by 2014. McCain is still supportive of the intiative, but as a realist, he might change the deadline.
According to McCain's website:
No Child Left Behind has focused our attention on the realities of how students perform against a common standard. John McCain believes that we can no longer accept low standards for some students and high standards for others. In this age of honest reporting, we finally see what is happening to students who were previously invisible. While that is progress all its own, it compels us to seek and find solutions to the dismal facts before us.School Vouchers
McCain believes equal opportunity should be a key component of education reform, and is a firm defender of school vouchers -- which give parents the right to send their children to the school of their choice.
Because the responsibility of educating America's future leaders and citizens is so important, McCain believes school systems must report to parents and the public on their progress.
The way students are prepared for their future is deplorable, in McCain's opinion, especially when compared with the rest of the world. Thus, McCain believes parents should have the right to send their children to schools of demonstrated excellence, especially if it's their own homes.
McCain supports competition between schools and letting parents decide where they send their children, based on which schools they believe are the most high-quality and innovative, and schools that demonstrate excellence through this method should receive higher funding, respectively.
States Rights
Nevertheless, McCain won't tie funding to academic performance. As a supporter of state's rights, he will allow states to make spending decisions that best suit student needs. In addition to these unrestricted block grants, McCain would include another $500 million for teacher merit pay.
McCain believes states also should be in charge of students' curriculums, including whether to teach intelligent design, evolution or creationism.
Retired & Community Tutors
Although teachers are the cornerstone of education under McCain's plan, he believes senior citizens would serve as excellent tutors. To accomplish this, he wants to create a pool of volunteer military veterans, retirees and others who would tutor students in math, science and English. The lessons, however, would go beyond scholastic subjects. Tutors, to McCain, would help promote traditional values for students and reiterate to them the importance of a good education.
Tax-free Education Expenses
McCain has been supportive of a program that would allow parents to open tax-free savings accounts for their children’s educational expenses - including tutoring, computers, and tuition. He sponsored a bill to implement this program in 1999; despite passing both Houses of Congress, President Bill Clinton vetoed it.
McCain's Education Quick Hits:
McCain supports funding for:
- Nutrition and enrichment programs for low-income and at-risk children
- Family literacy programs and education for homeless adults
- Programs that help reduce the dropout rate for minority students, especially Hispanics, who have unique dropout circumstances
- High-speed Internet access (and filtering software) for every public school and library
