The federal political landscape has undergone an incredible series of
turbulent changes over the past year, and the events of September 11th have
again dramatically reshaped that terrain. With the nation's political leadership
and public psyche fixed on grave questions of war and peace, it is difficult to
divine the direction that education policy will take. Nonetheless, a review of
the past year's events, and a consideration of the present political posture,
does provide a basis for some predictions about the road ahead.
At the beginning of 2001, President Bush took office and set about to
implement his legislative agenda, which featured proposals for a broad-based
income-tax reduction and a revamping and bolstering of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The President underscored the high priority of
these proposals by unveiling them shortly after taking office.
