Governor [Romney] supports the use of tax money to pay for private school opportunities for students including schools that have religious education. He claims he wants to have the money follow the child and not the public school system. He includes children with disabilities in his program. If in fact his plan does come to fruition, a major overhaul of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Individuals Disability Education Act (IDEA) would be required along with reauthorization. These two laws have a key principle of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for all children. Governor Romney was a recipient of a 1993 infusion of $2 billion into the Massachusetts education system prior to taking office. The reforms brought on by the changes in the education system put the students in Massachusetts on the track to higher academic achievement. When Romney became the governor in 2003 that academic achievement continued until he left office. In fact, he upped the ante and worked to have science added to the required statewide assessment system. He also continued the practice of exit testing all seniors in the public school system. Other areas that failed to become part of Romney's mandates were merit pay, connecting student achievement to salary bonuses, and eliminating bilingual education in public schools. He believes that the federal government has overstepped its authority of demanding states implement mandates that should best be left in the individual states purview.