[Reading-hall-of-fame] Bush Slashes Adult Educaton Funds

[Thomas Sticht]

February 9, 2005

President Bush Slashes Funds For Adult Literacy Education

Tom Sticht
International Consultant in Adult Education

The Adult Education & Literacy System (AELS) of the United States was
formed in 1966 when the Adult Education Act (AEA) was passed by the U. S.
Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon Baines Johnson. In 1998
it was incorporated into the Workforce Investment Act as Title 2, The
Adult  Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA).

In 2005, over 3000 organizations operate under the rules and regulations
of the AEFLA. These thousands of educational institutions make-up the
Adult Education and Literacy System (AELS) of the United States and they 
provide learning opportunities for some 3,000,000 adults yearly.  For over
35 years  this adult education system has helped millions of adults take
steps away from the margins of society into the mainstream.

In a speech on January 12, 2005  the President said, "Out of a hundred 9th
graders in our public schools, only 68 will complete high school on time."
However, census data show that some 85 percent of adults 25 to 29 years
old have completed high school. So somehow between the 9th grade and age
25-29 high school completion increases from 68 to 85 percent. To a large
extent this reflects the fact that many high school dropouts go to the
Adult Education and Literacy System (AELS) programs and study to earn a
high school diploma or GED equivalency certificate.

But on Monday, February 7, 2005 the President submitted his FY 2006 budget
to the Congress calling for a two-thirds reduction in the funding for the
AELS from $575 million to $200 million.  So if tens of thousands of high
school dropouts turn to the AELS later on, they will find a marginalized
education system that is funded at the federal level at less than $75 per
adult student. And in fact, it may not be there for them at all.

Help Save The Adult Education and Literacy System (AELS) of the United States

The President’s decision to decimate the AELS  is bad policy because it
not only reduces the overall health and productivity of our nation’s adult
work and parenting force, it promotes failure in the upcoming generation
because undereducated parents are poorly prepared to provide for and
transmit language and literacy skills to their children at home and hence
influence their success in the K-12 system, including their likelihood of
graduating from high school.

In our Nation's educational system of the 21st century, no adults should
be left behind. All government officials across the nation and in the
Congress need to be contacted and urged to protect children’s rights to
educated parents. They should overturn the misguided action of the Bush
administration and support the Adult Education and Literacy System of the
United States.

Thomas G. Sticht
International Consultant in Adult Education
2062 Valley View Blvd.
El Cajon, CA 92019-2059
Tel/fax: (619) 444-9133
Email: tsticht at aznet.net