
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, March 27, 1994                   TAG: 9403270029
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A5   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

$105 MILLION SAVED WITH BILL'S PASSAGE

They had to stay past midnight to do it, but the Senate passed President Clinton's education reform bill in time to save states and schools $105 million this year.

The Goals 2000 bill, passed 63-22, authorizes $647 million for school reforms nationwide, including $400 million in grants to states and local school agencies.

The vote early Saturday came after Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., organized a filibuster over the rewording of a school prayer provision.

One by one, Helms' Republican supporters took to the nearly empty Senate floor to talk about education and subjects ranging from Whitewater to Somalia.

Helms' tactic, which delayed the start of a two-week Easter recess, ended after Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, D-Maine, threatened to bring senators back Monday to vote on the bill.

The urgency to pass the bill was the result of a provision that would have subtracted $105 million in funding for states and local school districts this year if the measure did not become law by April 1.

Congress doesn't return from Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said the Goals 2000 bill will change the way the federal government supports local schools. vacation until April 11.

The House already had approved the bill, 306-121.

Helms lost his bid to deny federal funds to schools that bar voluntary prayer.

The compromise worked out by a House-Senate conference committee prevents federal money from being used to help school districts adopt policies preventing voluntary prayer and meditation.

The approved version could allow schools already restricting prayer or using their own money to restrict prayer to continue the practice.

The bill contains the education Goals 2000 agreed to in 1989 by then-President Bush and the nation's governors. Two new goals were added: encouraging parents' involvement in education, and professional development for teachers.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said the bill will change the way the federal government supports local schools.

Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., who voted against the bill, said it precludes state reform and could lead to a national curriculum.

by CNB