President Bush spoke about education policy at La Crosse Logan High School Wednesday afternoon. He also used a great deal of his speech to discuss Sept. 11 and the war on terrorism. Listen to his speech. (MPR Photo/Erin Galbally)

President Bush took a break from Mideast peace discussions Wednesday to plug a new education law that Democrats charged could not be paid for in his budget.

Though he is immersed in trying to broker peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Bush never mentioned the issue in two speeches or in a classroom tour. However, he spoke at length in both speeches about America's war against terrorism.

Back in Washington for a late-afternoon meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan at the White House, the foreign policy subject that has demanded so much of Bush's attention in recent weeks resumes center stage.

Bush is eager to heighten awareness of the sweeping new education measure, which he signed into law four months ago but which many Americans know little about. He announced no new initiatives, instead visiting three high-performing schools as the backdrop for highlighting provisions of the bill he signed in January.

He emphasized that the new law will allow students in schools that have failed to meet state education standards for two years in a row to transfer to better public schools. According to the White House, the new law will allow nearly 70,000 students in 116 Wisconsin public schools to transfer.

"It's unacceptable, it's just unacceptable to have children trapped in schools that are mediocre, that won't change, that won't teach," Bush said at a school in Milwaukee.

Bush also touted teacher quality provisions in the law, including one that requires states to ensure that within four years all teachers will be qualified to teach in their subject areas.

"Teaching is such a noble profession," Bush said at Rufus King High School. "It's such an important part of making sure that no child is left behind."

Later, he flew to La Crosse, in the southwestern part of the state, to visit a third school.

He underlined the importance of testing as a means of gauging whether schools and students are succeeding. "I know you don't like to take tests. Too bad. It is important," Bush told hundreds of students at La Crosse Logan High School.

On the eve of Bush's Wisconsin visit, Democrats intensified their charges that Bush's budget will not pay for his education plan.

Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, released a report Wednesday identifying what he said were shortfalls in Bush's proposed education budget.

"I am happy to see the president talking about education and reading to schoolchildren, but the fact is that his rhetoric is not matched by resources in his education budget proposal," Obey said.

He said Bush's proposed budget will fall short by $4.7 billion in Title I, the federal program aimed at helping low-income students improve academically. It also falls short in teacher training and class-reduction initiatives by $400 million, Obey said.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, chairman of the Senate education committee, said Bush's proposed budget provides for no growth in teacher training money. Kennedy proposed a $750 million increase for teachers last year, and an additional $2.5 billion over five years.

"The No Child Left Behind Act was intended as a down payment on that commitment, but the administration's budget denies that down payment for teachers, and places schools in bankruptcy," Kennedy said.

The president's trips to Milwaukee and La Crosse, Wis., marked his fifth visit to the critical electoral state, which he narrowly lost to Al Gore in 2000.

One of Bush's destinations, Clarke Street Elementary School, is a high-performing school in the 165-school Milwaukee Public Schools system.

Although most of the Clarke's 462 pupils come from low-income families, their high test scores are near to those in more affluent suburban schools.

With six months left until the November elections, Bush is making a point of traveling the country to emphasize domestic issues, particularly the voter-friendly education law. He traveled to Michigan on Monday to discuss education.

(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)