BUSH PLAN IS FOR NATION'S WORST SCHOOLS

Not a week into his presidency, George W. Bush took on one of the most serious problems facing our nation: how to turn our worst public schools -- where disinterested and violent students, burned-out teachers and bureaucracy-shackled administrators make learning a virtual impossibility -- into centers for academic achievement.

Bush released a 28-page document that outlines rational solutions to chronic problems.

The president wants annual testing for all students in grades 3-8 so that school administrators and parents can chart the progress of students and determine what changes need to be made for highest achievement.

He wants a bonus for states that implement testing and other accountability measures, a new "Reading First" grant program for early literacy and "No Child Left Behind" bonuses for the most improved schools.

He wants English fluency to be a priority, demanding that students know the language within three years. When that doesn't happen, Bush's plan states, speakers of other languages flounder in class while their English-proficient peers move ahead.

But the most groundbreaking part of his plan calls for more freedom. District administrators should be free to use federal money where it can help their students most instead of in accordance with this program or that. And parents should be free to put their children in the schools where the students will learn. This could be either higher-performing public schools or private schools.

And that's where the controversy lies.

Basically, the plan says that if schools fail to meet standards for three consecutive years, they will lose federal funding for administration, and parents will be allowed to use Title I funds to take their students to higher-performing public schools or to pay for private-school tuition.

Certainly, many more details must be ironed out.

It behooves Congress to take the politics out of this debate and that includes ignoring, for the moment, powerful teachers' unions who oppose any type of change -- and actually think about individual children and how they will be affected.

And while the debate continues in Washington, parents in Cape Girardeau County can thank local teachers and administrators for their hard work. Because of it, it's highly unlikely any part of Bush's plan for accountability would affect our schools.