Detailed proposals have yet to be announced.
But that hasn't stopped political pundits from debating the pros and cons of what might appear in the legislative package that Bush is expected to introduce to Congress soon after his inauguration. During the recent presidential campaign, Bush announced he would pursue several education goals. Among them were initiatives to close the achievement gap between disadvantaged students and their peers, raise academic standards and accountability, strengthen early learning, promote school safety, and expand voucher and charter school programs. The word from Capitol Hill is that Bush will focus his initial legislative proposals on policies that will win the most bipartisan support, such as early education, school accountability, and greater flexibility for states in spending federal education dollars. In the past, Bush has suggested encouraging states to establish accountability standards and annually test students in the third through eighth grades in reading and math.