Words: Thompson advocates voucher programs and charter schools and supports the right of parents to choose schools. He feels that education reform should take place on the local level. “The federal government can assist state and localities through grants with fewer strings and less bureaucracy but should not take schools out of the hands of parents and local officials.”

Actions: Thompson voted FOR funding abstinence education (1996), FOR school vouchers in DC (1997), FOR education savings accounts (2000), AGAINST spending tax cut funds on education, and AGAINST funding smaller classes and student testing instead of private tutors (2001).

More about: Education, Fred Thompson.