Democrats' alternative to Bush education plan: competition, but no vouchers

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As President Bush launched his planned overhaul of U.S. education Tuesday, moderate Democrats put forth a counterproposal they say would improve schools and give parents more choice without diverting money to private schools.

Sen. Joe Lieberman

"We feel strongly we can not afford to wait any longer to craft a serious national response to what is clearly a serious national problem -- not when millions of our kids are being denied the education they deserve and which the new economy demands," Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman said.

"The formula is simple: Invest in reform, and insist on results," he added.

The Democratic measure, dubbed the "Three R's" bill, would put another $35 billion into schools over five years. States whose schools exceed education objectives would get additional money and flexibility as a reward. States that fail to meet goals would lose administrative funding after three years, and continued failure would mean more cuts.

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Lieberman, who was former Vice President Al Gore's running mate in last year's election, and other moderate Democratic senators proposed their own plan Tuesday morning. Bush formally proposed his plan Tuesday afternoon.

The Bush plan includes a number of measures that enjoy widespread bipartisan support in Congress, including moves to allow states more flexibility to spend federal education dollars; regular tests on reading and math abilities for students; and more federal funding for early reading programs.

Bush, who made education reform his signature issue through much of the campaign season, also vowed to push the most controversial portion of his plan, school vouchers -- which allow parents to use public money to send their children to private schools.

Lieberman and Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh said Bush's proposals overlap significantly with the Democrats' version, despite differences on matters like vouchers.

"We have an excellent opportunity to enact the most sweeping education reform since the 1960s," Bayh said. "Breaking with the sterile orthodoxy of the past, in which too often the left said just spending more money was the answer to the problems facing our schools, and the right said the public schools could not be fixed and therefore should be abandoned.

Sen. Evan Bayh

"Instead, we propose a consensus -- a synthesis of ideas reflecting the best of both the right and the left to improve the quality of public education across our country," he said.

Bayh said the Democratic plan would make schools more accountable by "defining success by how much children learn rather than what they spend." It would give states, which have far more control over education than the federal government, the ability to innovate and experiment, he said; and it would employ principles of market competition through charter schools, magnet schools and choice among public schools.

Democrats -- who are heavily supported by unionized teachers -- generally oppose vouchers, arguing that they drain money and support away from public school systems.

Lieberman called the Democratic proposals, which do not include a voucher plan, "a second pitch for a third way" that combines both conservative and liberal elements. A similar proposal failed last year.

"We are here today as Senate and House New Democrats to put forward a comprehensive education reform program that we hope can serve as a foundation for building a bipartisan legislative consensus on education and ultimately, a better future for all of our children," Lieberman said. "We feel strongly that we cannot afford to wait any longer to craft a serious national response to what is a serious national problem."