The Bush administration has made repeated attacks on the very foundation of educational equity—Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Bush's hand-picked commission reviewed the Title IX athletics programs and made a series of recommendations that would have eliminated more than 350,000 athletic opportunities and $122 million in college scholarships for women athletes. Under pressure, the Bush administration rejected most of the recommendations, but is quietly implementing other measures limiting athletic opportunities.

 Backtracked on numerous policies that promote gender equity in education for girls and young women, including consistently under-funding important programs like the National Youth Sports Program and Girls' Sports Clinics.

 For three years in a row the Bush budget has eliminated funds for the Women's Educational Equity Act, which helps schools comply with Title IX gender equity goals by educating girls in non-traditional areas, improving teaching strategies for math and science, and combating sexual harassment in schools. Congress restored the modest funds for this important work, but the Bush administration eliminated the Women's Educational Equity Resource Center, which was responsible for coordinating these programs.

 Bush's Department of Education has refused to investigate a pattern of exclusion of women from traditionally male education programs, including a request from 200 prominent scientists, engineers and mathematicians to investigate pervasive gender disparities in science, technology, engineering and math programs.

 Without explanation, Bush's Department of Education has removed all mention of an important guide on sexual harassment violations from its list of Title IX materials, thereby denying students useful information while making schools vulnerable to lawsuits.

 Bush and his right-wing friends in Congress turned back women's educational progress by pushing through a provision allowing sex-segregated education in public schools without requiring a showing of need or appropriateness, and without requiring parallel programs for the other gender. This action relaxed safeguards protecting equal opportunity and opened the door to programs based on harmful stereotypes which convey a second-class status for girls and women.

 Bush has called the No Child Left Behind Act the "cornerstone" of his administration, yet he has drastically under-funded its programs (by $9.4 billion in his proposed 2005 budget), leaving millions of disadvantaged children behind.

 Proposed cutting all funding from the "Reading is Fundamental" program.

 Bush's Department of Justice sided with opponents of civil rights protections by arguing that race cannot be considered in university admissions programs. Even though the Supreme Court upheld the University of Michigan law school's admissions policies, the Department of Education has failed to offer any guidance to schools on promoting gender and racial diversity in their student bodies.

 Bush proposed a 24% cut in the 2005 budget for vocational education, slashing a total of $1 billion from job training and vocational education over four years.

 Bush's proposed 2005 budget froze funding for after school programs, despite their track record of helping children succeed.

 Promoted a weakening of national standards for the successful Head Start program through a transfer of responsibility to states; maintains an inadequate funding level, which allows only a fraction of eligible children to participate.

John Kerry:

/  Voted for Bush's "No Child Left Behind Act," but says he regrets this vote because the act is severely under-funded and has placed additional burdens on financially-strapped local school districts.

Co-sponsored the Right Start Act of 2003, designed to increase availability and affordability of child care and Head Start, reduce child hunger, and encourage good nutrition.

Sponsored the Early Childhood Development Act of 1999, which funded availability and accessibility of childcare and caregiver initiatives to prepare children for school.

Ralph Nader:

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