? McCain supports school vouchers. 

? Supports sending federal dollars directly to local schools,
cutting back on red tape and saving administrative costs.

? McCain wants to place parents and children at the center of
the education process and empower parents by greatly expanding
the ability of parents to choose among schools for their
children. 

Editor?s note: We found it difficult to pinpoint the position
of John McCain on education from his campaign website and
decided to publish an unedited copy of his position directly
from his website.

Excellence, Choice, and Competition 
in American Education 

John McCain believes American education must be worthy of the
promise we make to our children and ourselves. He understands
that we are a nation committed to equal opportunity, and there
is no equal opportunity without equal access to excellent
education.

Public education should be defined as one in which our public
support for a child's education follows that child into the
school the parent chooses. The school is charged with the
responsibility of educating the child, and must have the
resources and management authority to deliver on that
responsibility. They must also report to the parents and the
public on their progress.

The deplorable status of preparation for our children,
particularly in comparison with the rest of the industrialized
world, does not allow us the luxury of eliminating options in
our educational repertoire. John McCain will fight for the
ability of all students to have access to all schools of
demonstrated excellence, including their own homes.

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.

John McCain believes our schools can and should compete to be
the most innovative, flexible and student-centered - not safe
havens for the uninspired and unaccountable. He believes we
should let them compete for the most effective,
character-building teachers, hire them, and reward them.

If a school will not change, the students should be able to
change schools. John McCain believes parents should be
empowered with school choice to send their children to the
school that can best educate them just as many members of
Congress do with their own children. He finds it beyond
hypocritical that many of those who would refuse to allow
public school parents to choose their child's school would
never agree to force their own children into a school that did
not work or was unsafe. They can make another choice. John
McCain believes that is a fundamental and essential right we
should honor for all parents.

As president, John McCain will pursue reforms that address the
underlying cultural problems in our education system - a
system that still seeks to avoid genuine accountability and
responsibility for producing well-educated children.

John McCain will place parents and children at the center of
the education process, empowering parents by greatly expanding
the ability of parents to choose among schools for their
children. He believes all federal financial support must be
predicated on providing parents the ability to move their
children, and the dollars associated with them, from failing
schools.

		

• Obama intends to revive 'No Child Left Behind' by
recruiting an army of new teachers and support schools that
need improvement rather than punishing them.

• He believes, after high school graduation, that all
students should undergo a year of on the job training or
higher education to enable the creation of a skilled workforce
within the country.

• Obama supports programs like 'Head start' which is an
attempt to influence early learning in a child. This equips a
young child with qualities and the confidence to go into
Kindergarten.

• He suggested investing $10 billion in Education so
that every child in the country can access quality, affordable
and early childhood education.

• He supports American Opportunity Tax Credit, a
universally and fully refundable tax credit that will ensure
that the first $4000 of a college education is free for most
Americans.

• Obama recommends a Step Up plan which has community
organizations and local schools pitching in to offer summer
learning opportunities for disadvantaged children.

• He suggested consolidating Direct Loan Programs to
save $4.5 billion rather than managing these loans through
banks and private money lenders.

• Obama recommends age appropriate sex education right
from Kindergarten level to help children escape child
molestation.

• He supports setting up of charter schools and private
investment in schools saying that it is necessary to
experiment and reward good performances in the classroom

• After school and summer school programs for minority
and underprivileged youth with parental help. This Obama
stressed especially for African American fathers who seemed to
be continually absent from home.