Hailed by many as the most significant change to education since the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of the 1960s, the Education Bill was approved in the Senate last Thursday, 91-8. A major coup for the president, this bill goes a long way in demonstrating how Bush is a man of his word, as he has made our nation’s public schools one of his top priorities during his first year in office.

The bill requires that schools regularly test students in grades three through eight, and that those schools will be held accountable if students are failing.

Troubled schools will be offered funding and resources to improve test scores, but if those same schools fail to produce positive results after three years, students will be able to use taxpayer dollars for private tutoring. After five years, failing schools will be required to change their staff, become a charter school or allow the state to take over.

In addition to passing these new guidelines, the bill also states that federal funding will be denied to schools that do not allow the Boy Scouts of America on school grounds. Since the Supreme Court ruled last June that the organization was well within its rights to ban gay members, many school boards have discontinued their support of the Boy Scouts. Those schools that have terminated their affiliation with the Boy Scouts because of the Supreme Court decision, will be stripped of federal funding if they do not change their policies.

So, what do you think about Bush’s education reform? Should special testing occur in schools across the nation? Will the penalties that the bill outlines for failing schools serve as a means of improving the academic achievement of students? Should the clause that Boy Scouts cannot be excluded from America’s public schools be included in this education bill?