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Tuesday, October 24, 2006

What, us worry?

By Ken Herman | Tuesday, October 24, 2006, 02:11 PM

Polls and conventional wisdom aside, White House planning for next year’s legislative agenda is rooted in confidence that its folks will continue to be in charge in both chambers on Capitol Hill.

“I think the president has been very clear that he’s preparing for a Congress that has Republican leadership, and that’s the way we’ll continue to proceed. It’s the only way to proceed,” Tony Fratto, a relatively new White House spokesman, said aboard Air Force One today as President Bush headed to Florida for political fund-raising events.

Why not also plan for the possibility that Democrats might control the House, the Senate or both?

“We’re still in the game,” Fratto said, “and if you’re in the game, you’re in it to win.”

But nobody knows the outcome of the game, a reporter reminded Fratto.

“We feel confident about the outcome, and that’s the way we’re going to proceed,” he replied.

Fratto remained on his game in the face of a couple of contentious follow-up questions.

“We are ready. We’re ready to work with a Republican Congress,” he said.

Confronted with the possibility that that meant the White House is not ready to work with a Democatic Congress, Fratto said, “Questions? Anything else? Thank you.”

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Bush’s first freebie

By Ken Herman | Tuesday, October 24, 2006, 08:56 AM

After months of limiting his political events to fund-raisers, President Bush will attend his first no-door-fee political event of the year on Saturday in Sellersburg, Indiana.

The White House says Bush will speak at a rally for GOP Rep. Mike Sodrel and the Indiana Victory 2006 organization at Sellersburg’s Silver Creek High School. It will be the first of several rallies for GOP candidates Bush will attend around the country as Election Day (Nov. 7) approaches.

Sodrel is being challenged by Democrat Baron Hill, who held the seat for six years before Sodrel beat him two years ago.

First Lady Laura Bush is due in the district on Wednesday for a Sodrel rally.

The president, the first lady and Vice President Cheney also each have headlined fund-raising receptions for Sodrel this year. White House Press Secretary Tony Snow is due in the district next Monday to help raise money for Sodrel’s re-election campaign.

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Dangerous School Label is Dangerous

By Patrice Relerford | Tuesday, October 24, 2006, 08:12 AM

The persistently dangerous schools label is ineffective and leads stigmatization and underreporting of violent incidents, a panel of experts told U.S. Department of Education officials Monday.

“We all know [the words] ‘persistently dangerous’ was a death sentence to this legislation,� said Bill Bond of the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

Bond knows about school violence firsthand. He was principal of Heath High School in Paducah, Ky. in 1997 when a 14-year-old shot and killed three students and wounded five other students.

Education officials from several states including Texas, New Jersey, Colorado, and California addressed the effectiveness of the label and other components of the unsafe school choice option of the No Child Left Behind Act in front of the Safe and Drug Free Schools and
Communities Advisory Committee.

The provision requires schools identified as persistently dangerous to develop and implement a corrective action program within 20 days, notify parents of the designation, offer students the opportunity to transfer to a safe public or charter school and complete transfers
for students who accept.

“It’s a violation of a lot of people’s belief systems,� said Janelle Krueger of the Colorado Department of Education. “We don’t want to spend time simply reacting to when children have been behaving badly.�

Panelists pointed to the fact that Pennsylvania currently has more than 20 schools with the ‘persistently dangerous’ label, whereas more populous states like California have none as evidence of the provision’s ineffectiveness and the need to focus on violence
prevention.

Congress will consider reauthorization of the legislation in 2007. The safe and drug free schools and communities advisory committee will give Education Secretary Margaret Spellings recommendations
about the provision.

Educators who spoke in front of the committee Monday characterized the provision as reactionary and said it does not provide schools with enough resources to avoid receiving the persistently dangerous label.

“It’s one more thing we have to deal with,� said Cory Green, of the Texas State Education Agency when asked if Texas was better off because of the law.

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