After this background report, Ray Suarez leads a discussion with four experts on the major presidential candidates' education proposals.
Kids are back in school, and so are the presidential candidates.
For both Democrat Al Gore and Republican George Bush, education is at the very top of their campaign agenda. Education may be a local responsibility, but I believe it also has to be our number-one national priority. We can't stop until every school in America is a good place to get a good education. Bush says he's been to more than 100, and Gore spent last week bouncing across Ohio in a school bus. Both men are courting suburban and working class voters who say they are frustrated with the country's public education systems and are worried about whether students are being prepared to compete in today's high-tech economy.