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OCR Page 1 of 103-29-99
THE WHITE HOUSE
PM12:46
WASHINGTON
copied
Reed
March 27, 1999
Kagan
Podesta
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
pg 2:
VP
FROM:
Bruce Reed
HRC
Elena Kagan
Podesta
SUBJECT:
DPC Weekly Report
1. Education -- Ed-Flex Legislation: As a result of activity last week, we are now in
a very strong position to ensure that the Republican amendment undermining your class size
initiative is dropped from Ed-Flex legislation. Over 200 House members voted in favor of a
motion to instruct conferees to drop this provision, and at least 35 Senators have signed a letter
(not yet released) recommending that you veto the Ed-Flex bill if this provision remains in it. We
are working with OMB on a letter to the Ed-Flex conference committee to convey a veto threat
on the class size issue and express support for the strongest possible accountability provisions.
As you know, we made good progress in both the House and the Senate on accountability; now
our challenge is to combine these somewhat different accountability provisions to ensure that
waivers are tied to gains in student achievement.
2. Education -- Charter Schools and Desegregation: We are working with the
Education and Justice Departments on issues relating to the relationship between charter schools
and desegregation orders. An op-ed by Clint Bolick in the Wall Street Journal this week attacked
Bill Lann Lee for "waging a war" against charter schools because of his efforts to prevent
proposed charter schools from changing the racial balance called for in existing desegregation
orders. The op-ed made special reference to actions the Department has taken in Louisiana to
block the creation of new charter schools and /or to insist that the schools or school boards
involved take new steps to ensure continued racial balance in the community. The issues
involved in these cases are very tricky. The Justice Department notes that new charter schools
can undermine hard-won desegregation orders that ensure racial balance in school systems.
Charter school advocates, on the other hand, argue that a rigid enforcement strategy in this area
will prevent many communities including predominantly minority communities from gaining
the benefits of charter schools. (The proposed charter schools involved in the Louisiana cases,
for example, are in largely minority communities; Justice is fearful that these schools either will
siphon white students from other schools in the system or will lead minority parents to take their
children out of more integrated schools in the system to enroll them in the new charters.) The
Education Department is now in the process of developing draft guidance on these issues.
3. Education -- Social Promotion Policy: We are attempting, though not with any great
success, to make the civil rights community comfortable with your no-social-promotion policy.
As currently drafted, your proposal would insist that states have plans to prevent social promotion
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