Their difference of opinion has been a long time in coming, with many of the provisions of NCLB in stark contrast to Florida’s A-Plus Plan. Among the more consequential distinctions include NCLB’s usage of pass/fail proficiency standards compared to the A-Plus Plan’s A-F grading system; the federal plan’s use of only punishments and not rewards; inconsistency about what qualifies a school as ‘failing’ or ‘succeeding’ under the different laws; and the A-Plus Plan’s greater reliance on progress measures of student success (though the federal law is making progress on this front). Said Governor Bush about NCLB’s requirement that 100% of students be proficient in reading, math, and science by 2014, “Perfection is not going to happen. We’re all imperfect under God’s watchful eye, and it’s impossible to achieve it.”

Why is this important? For starters, the public nature of Jeb’s comments could provide much needed fodder for the Democratic Party on a critical election issue during the coming mid-terms. What’s more, the Florida governor’s political future could be direly affected as he, too, seeks to build a reputation as an education governor.

But more important than anything else is the implications that America’s youth stand to suffer when NCLB comes up for reauthorization in 2007. While many insiders—or so our sources tell us—seem to think that there will be little collective stomach among legislators to tackle the law until ’08 or later, it seems certain that change is in the air. Whether the changes are to strengthen the law (by moving towards a national standard, for instance, as prominent individuals from both parties are proposing), change the way in which the law measures progress from a proficiency standard to a growth model, or re-think the sticks-over-carrots nature of the accountability system, the whole education policy world is bracing itself for some serious debates.

Our only hope? That during these discussions, students are actively engaged in talking about what makes sense and what works and doesn’t work. Because as much as the Brothers Bush and their political legacies are affected by the debate’s outcome… no one is affected more than the students themselves.