Critics: prez' budget leaves children behind. (Update: education news from schools, businesses, research and government agencies).

The good news is that President Bush is proposing $53.1 billion in federal taxes for public education next year, up from $40.1 billion in fiscal year 2001. The bad news is that it's not enough, especially in light of a new law, critics say.

Some Democratic congressional leaders and other experts say the president is not playing fair--forcing a federal mandate on local school districts in No Child Left Behind, but taking money away from programs that would help meet the mandate.

"His budget cuts 46 education programs," says Nancy Keenan, education policy director for People for the American Way, an advocacy group for a diverse democratic society. "Here you have a president that is saying he's making sure every child has a fair chance to succeed, ... but he cuts programs for at-risk students. He cuts opportunities for quality teachers. And he freezes funding for [Title II] Teacher Quality block grants."

"Ultimately what happens is that children don't have qualified teachers in front of them," Keenan continues. "He's shifting attention to funding this to vouchers and charter schools. It really is the privatization of, public schools. And it's not good. Public schools are the great equalizer for all children. We take them all.... And private schools can discriminate."

U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) and U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA) recently announced their own legislation to "truly leave no child behind." "Buildings, roads and bridges aren't this nation's most important infrastructure. Families are," says Dodd, senior Democrat on the Senate Children and Families' Subcommittee.

But Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.), chair of the Republican Study Committee, claimed the budget was "overly generous" in part given the hurting economy.

THE PRESIDENT ADDS:

* $75 million for a new Choice Initiative Fund for awards to districts and community-based nonprofit organizations that secure educational opportunities for children. It allows low-income parents to transfer their children to high-performing public, private or charter schools.

* $226 million in refundable tax credits for parents transferring children from low-performing schools.

* $220 million for charter school grants and $100 million to continue Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities to help charter schools lease and renovate facilities.

THE PRESIDENT CUTS:

* $235 million for Comprehensive School Reform program, which helped high-poverty and low-achieving schools nationwide raise student achievement. But Bush also proposed a $1 billion increase for Title I.

* $50 million from Safe and Drug-Free School grants and cuts funding for after-school programs by 40 percent. Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, an anti-crime organization, is disappointed. "We work with law enforcement ... victims of violence, and we believe the best way to fight violence is in after-school programs," says vice president David Kass. This cut would mean that more than a half million children would be denied access to programs.

Does Title I Work?

A new study concludes Title I does not make a great difference in closing the achievement gap for poor and minority students. "Closing the Education Gap: Is Title I Working," conducted by the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, shows the program has no systematic, positive effects on student achievement.

The study found:

* Title I funds have not historically raised test scores of children, according to test scores from the National Assessment of Education Progress.

* The No Child Left Behind law reauthorized Title I so students can transfer to better schools. But options are limited to their own school district. And in urban districts, there may not be enough good schools to take on all the new students.

Findings are consistent with evaluations done since the program was started in 1965.