While pundits dissect last week's election results - two-thirds of all education measures on the ballot were approved - policymakers sweat over where to find the money for smaller classes, after-school programs, school construction and, in Florida, universal preschool. Faced with big deficits, states will be hard-pressed to fund such popular but pricey programs - some in the tens of billions range - without unwelcome tax hikes and painful policy tradeoffs. But it's not just budget priorities that stand to change. With power shifting in the U.S. Senate, expect to see heightened emphasis on results and accountability - not just funding - in upcoming reauthorization battles over special ed and higher ed. Although Republican leaders say they don't expect to re-open the No Child Left Behind Act, they may seek to expand its testing and school choice provisions. Meanwhile, GOP gains in state legislatures have given vouchers a "second wind," or so says The Wall Street Journal.
"62% of measures win approval," by John Ritter, USA Today, November 7, 2002; "The Education Election," by Tamar Lewin, The New York Times, November 10, 2002; "GOP Foresees Expansion of Party Themes on Education," by Diana Jean Schemo, The New York Times, November 10, 2002; and "Republicans' Election Gains Give Vouchers Second Wind," by Robert Tomsho, The Wall Street Journal, November 11, 2002 (subscribers only)