HELPING CHILDREN LEARN TO HIGH STANDARDS:
More High-Quality Teachers for Smaller Class Sizes. Last year President Clinton and Vice President Gore won a second installment of $1.3 billion for the President’s plan to hire 100,000 well-prepared teachers to reduce class size in the early grades. $1.2 billion was provided in FY99, helping states put almost 30,000 new teachers in America's classrooms.

Turning Around Failing Schools. 11 million low-income students now benefit from Title I-Aid to Disadvantaged Students, and all our children are benefiting from higher expectations and a challenging curriculum geared to higher standards. The FY00 budget provides an additional $134 million accountability fund to help turn around the worst performing schools and hold them accountable for results.

Raising Academic Standards. Communities in every state receive Goals 2000 funds and are using these funds to upgrade the curriculum, improve teaching, increase parental involvement in schools, make better use of computers in the classroom, and set higher academic standards for public schools.

Expanding Choice in Public Schools. President Clinton and Vice President Gore have supported the growth of public charter schools, which have increased from one in the nation in 1993 to more than 1,200 in 1998. With at least 1,700 charter schools expected to operate this year, the nation is more than halfway to the President’s goal of establishing 3,000 quality charter schools by 2002.

Supporting Local Education Reform Efforts. The President signed the Education Flexibility Partnership Act of 1999 (Ed-Flex), giving all states the ability to use federal resources in ways that best complement local efforts and innovation.

QUALITY EDUCATION FOR ALL:
Largest Investment in Education in Thirty Years. The Clinton-Gore Administration enacted the largest investment in education in 30 years – and the largest investment in higher education since the G.I. Bill.

Providing Early Education to Nearly 900,000 Children with Head Start. The President and Vice President have expanded Head Start funding by 90 percent since 1993. Head Start will reach approximately 880,000 low-income children in FY 2000 and, with the President's proposed increase for the program, will be on the way to reaching the President's goal of serving 1 million children and their families by the year 2002. The Administration also created Early Head Start, bringing Head Start's successful comprehensive services to families with children ages zero to three, and set high quality standards for both programs.

Modernizing Our Schools. At least 2,400 new public schools will be needed nationwide by 2003 to accommodate rising enrollments and relieve overcrowding. This year, the President and Vice President have proposed federal tax credits to pay the interest on nearly $25 billion in state and local bonds to modernize and rebuild up to 6,000 public schools that are overcrowded, out-of-date, and unsafe. In addition, the budget includes a new $13 billion school urgent/emergency renovation loan and grant proposal.

Keeping Guns Out of Our Nation's Schools. In October 1994, President Clinton signed into law the Gun-Free Schools Act, and issued a Presidential Directive to enforce “zero tolerance” for guns in schools. Nearly 4,000 students were expelled from public schools for bringing a firearm to school in the 1997-98 school year under zero tolerance policies.

Providing Safe After-School Opportunities for 675,000 Students Each Year. The President and Vice President substantially increased our investment in the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program to enable schools to stay open longer, providing safe and educational after-school opportunities for 675,000 school-age children in rural and urban communities each year.

Expanding Access to Education Technology. Under the Vice President's leadership, the Clinton-Gore Administration created the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund to help connect every school to the Internet, increase the number of multimedia computers in the classroom and provide technology training for teachers. The President and Vice President have increased overall investments in educational technology by thirty-fold, from $23 million in 1993 to $769 million in 2000. And the Administration secured low-cost connections (the E-Rate) to the Internet for schools, libraries, rural health clinics and hospitals.

Teaching Every Child to Read by the 3rd Grade. The President challenged Americans to unite to be sure that every child can read well and independently by the third grade. In response to his America Reads challenge, more than 1,100 colleges have committed Work Study students to tutor children in reading, and more than 2 million children have been taught, tutored or mentored by national service programs like AmeriCorps, VISTA, and Foster Grandparents.

OPENING THE DOORS OF COLLEGE TO ALL AMERICANS:
Making 13th & 14th Grades as Universal As High School. The first two years of college are now universally available for nearly six million students with the $1,500 HOPE Scholarship tax credits to help defray tuition and fees.

Increasing College Opportunity with Tuition Tax Credits and Education IRAs. The 20 percent Lifetime Learning tax credit helps offset tuition costs for college or lifetime learning. More than seven million students and adults who want to upgrade their skills will benefit from the lifetime learning tax credit. And the new expanded Education IRA allows penalty and tax-free withdrawals for college tuition.

New Tax Incentives to Make College More Affordable. This year President Clinton has proposed the College Opportunity Tax Cut, which would give families the option of taking a tax deduction or claiming a 28 percent credit for tuition and fees to pay for higher education. When fully phased in, this proposal would provide up to $2,800 in tax relief annually to help American families pay for college.

Expanding Work Study and Pell Grants. One million students will be able to work their way through college because of the President’s expansion of the Work Study Program, and nearly four million students will receive a Pell Grant of up to $3,300, the largest maximum award ever. The maximum award has increased 43 percent under the Clinton-Gore Administration. This year President Clinton proposed a $77 million increase in Work Study, and an increase in the maximum Pell Grant to $3,500.

Helping Students Finish College. The President has also proposed new College Completion Challenge Grants to help reduce the college drop-out rate, with pre-freshman summer programs, support services and increased grant aid to students. This $35 million initiative will improve the chances of success for nearly 18,000 students.

Paying for College Through Community Service. Since 1994, AmeriCorps has allowed more than 150,000 young people to serve their communities while earning money for college, repaying student loans, or getting important skills training.

Establishing the GEAR-UP Mentoring Program for Middle School Children. President Clinton created and expanded GEAR-UP, a mentoring initiative, to help over 750,000 low-income middle school children finish school and prepare for college. This year the President has proposed a 62.5 percent increase in FY01 to serve 1.4 million students.