White House Statement on Federal Budget Amendments for the
Education Reform Strategy
June 7, 1991

The President today sent to the Congress FY 1992 budget amendments that would provide financing for his America 2000 education reform strategy now before the Congress. The strategy is a national—not a Federal-strategy, requiring the participation and support of families, communities, and the business sector in addition to Federal, State, and local governments. Federal resources and authorities, however, should play an important role in helping the States to achieve the national education goals and to help bring schools and teaching up to the standards necessary for America to compete effectively in the world economy of the next century.

The requested amendments would provide funds for the following activities:
• new American schools ($180 million);
• merit schools ($100 million);
• Governors’ academies for teachers ($70 million);
• Governors’ academies for school leaders ($22.5 million);
• alternative certification of teachers and principals ($25 million);
• assistance for parental choice programs ($200 million);
• parental choice programs of national significance ($30 million);
• the Commission on Time, Study, Learning, and Teaching ($1 million); and
• a variety of activities to develop world-class educational standards, American achievement tests, and electronic education networks for elementary and secondary schools, to assess workplace literacy skills, and for other purposes ($38.2 million).

These requests reflect reallocations among accounts in the Department of Education. In total, these reallocations would not affect current FY 1992 budget estimates.