House Committee on Education and Labor
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Editorial Pages Defend D.C. Scholarship Program

The Wall Street Journal editorial page today carries a harsh critique of congressional Democrats' plans to kill of the innovative Washington, D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. The program provides scholarships of up to $7,500 to low-income families in the nation's capital, helping them escape a troubled school system that is working hard to improve. But if congressional Democrats have their way, these children will be forced to return to unsafe, under-achieving schools. As the Wall Street Journal notes:

President Obama made education a big part of his speech Tuesday night, complete with a stirring call for reform. So we'll be curious to see how he handles the dismaying attempt by Democrats in Congress to crush education choice for 1,700 poor kids in the District of Columbia.

The omnibus spending bill now moving through the House includes language designed to kill the Opportunity Scholarship Program offering vouchers for poor students to opt out of rotten public schools. The legislation says no federal funds can be used on the program beyond 2010 unless Congress and the D.C. City Council reauthorize it. Given that Democrats control both bodies -- and that their union backers hate school choice -- this amounts to a death sentence.

This comes just a day after the Washington Post carried a similar editorial blasting the Democrats' decision and arguing that the phase-out of the program is an attempt to hide the truth about what they're doing.

CONGRESSIONAL Democrats want to mandate that the District's unique school voucher program be reauthorized before more federal money can be allocated for it. It is a seemingly innocuous requirement. In truth it is an ill-disguised bid to kill a program that gives some poor parents a choice regarding where their children go to school. Many of the Democrats have never liked vouchers, and it seems they won't let fairness or the interests of low-income, minority children stand in the way of their politics. But it also seems they're too ashamed -- and with good reason -- to admit to what they're doing.

Republicans created this program in 2004 with bipartisan support as part of a comprehensive plan to reform the District's school system. And since that time, we've been fighting to protect the program and ensure that while D.C. schools work to overcome decades of decline, students will have options today to access a quality education. Unfortunately, Democrats seem to be doing all that they can to take away those options.

Posted by Press Staff (02-26-2009, 05:49 PM) filed under School Choice

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