http://www.news-register.net/edit/story/0920202005_edt02.asp
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050915-8.html
Get Student Victims Back To Classrooms
The Intelligencer
By some estimates, more than 300,000 students were displaced by Katrina, their home schools either destroyed or, for the time being, rendered inoperable. Keeping Katrina from wiping out their school year is one of the bigger problems to tackle in recovery efforts, and unfortunately politics is rearing its ugly head in this as it is in other post-storm issues.
Such a huge exodus of students from storm-struck areas is perhaps more than even the most well-intentioned schools can manage. It is no small thing to suddenly expand class sizes without any more classroom space or personnel, especially when no one really knows whether the Katrina-displaced students will be able to return home in a few weeks, a few months or, in some cases, ever.
Some of those who seemingly seek every opportunity to foment political division are criticizing efforts to, in effect, bring classrooms to displaced students wherever they may be rather than bring the students to schools. The race-baiting claim, because many of the students are black, is that this is somehow an evil plot to return to "separate but equal" segregationist policies. That's insulting nonsense.
The interests of displaced students must be balanced against the interests of other students in areas where large numbers of Katrina refugees have gathered. In some places, school systems may be able to welcome displaced students into regular classrooms, and it's wonderful when they can. But the reality is that this is a very difficult logistical and human exercise, and everyone should be willing to be flexible. Temporary classrooms, Internet based teaching, temporary charter schools - the whole educational toolbox ought to be put to work. The federal government should issue vouchers to parents for education costs, just as it provides aid for other recovery purposes, to allow families to decide as much as possible what the best solution will be for them at their particular location.
The Bush administration is expected to ask Congress to swiftly enact legislation to waive a wide range of civil rights, testing and other statutory rules in order to allow educators and governments at all levels to flexibly respond to the needs of displaced students without having to worry about bureaucracy. Congress should approve the request, and leave the politics for another time.
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Excerpt from "President Discusses Hurricane Relief in Address to the Nation" (¶ 28-30)
THE PRESIDENT: The government of this nation will do its part, as well. Our cities must have clear and up-to-date plans for responding to natural disasters, and disease outbreaks, or a terrorist attack, for evacuating large numbers of people in an emergency, and for providing the food and water and security they would need. In a time of terror threats and weapons of mass destruction, the danger to our citizens reaches much wider than a fault line or a flood plain. I consider detailed emergency planning to be a national security priority, and therefore, I've ordered the Department of Homeland Security to undertake an immediate review, in cooperation with local counterparts, of emergency plans in every major city in America.
I also want to know all the facts about the government response to Hurricane Katrina. The storm involved a massive flood, a major supply and security operation, and an evacuation order affecting more than a million people. It was not a normal hurricane -- and the normal disaster relief system was not equal to it. Many of the men and women of the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the United States military, the National Guard, Homeland Security, and state and local governments performed skillfully under the worst conditions. Yet the system, at every level of government, was not well-coordinated, and was overwhelmed in the first few days. It is now clear that a challenge on this scale requires greater federal authority and a broader role for the armed forces -- the institution of our government most capable of massive logistical operations on a moment's notice.
Four years after the frightening experience of September the 11th, Americans have every right to expect a more effective response in a time of emergency. When the federal government fails to meet such an obligation, I, as President, am responsible for the problem, and for the solution. So I've ordered every Cabinet Secretary to participate in a comprehensive review of the government response to the hurricane. This government will learn the lessons of Hurricane Katrina. We're going to review every action and make necessary changes, so that we are better prepared for any challenge of nature, or act of evil men, that could threaten our people.