Vice President Gore has said he would support the charter school movement, according to the Chicago Tribune, but he has not made a charter school initiative part of his education agenda. Both candidates have padded their platforms with plans to make higher education more affordable. Vice President Gore plans to build on programs championed by the Clinton administration, including HOPE Scholarships, Pell Grants and the Direct Student Loan Program. Bush plans to increase the maximum Pell grant amount by more than 50 percent in order to fully fund the program for first-year students. He also offers additional Pell dollars to low-income students who take challenging math and science courses in high school.
Some analysts criticize both plans for their failure to help the poorest students.
Low-income kids don't have money to stuff into tax shelters, a Newsweek article observed. To get to college, the neediest need more aid in cash, an approach that hasn't been high on the federal to-do list.