According to Carrie Lucas of the Independent Women's Forum, the soon-to-be-voted-on Washington, DC, "omnibus bill" on education currently contains a bill on a school-choice program, which would offer low-income Washington parents scholarships worth up to $7,500. Problem is, the teachers unions are fighting it tooth-and-nail, and the members of Congress - many of whom don't live in DC - might be willing to let it slip out:
Despite spending $12,000 per pupil — the highest per-child expenditure in the nation — the Washington, D.C., public-school system is in perpetual crisis. The nation's capital boasts the lowest score on the National Assessment of Education Progress, a national standardized test. Many schools are unsafe and crumbling.
[DC mom] Tracy knows the frustrations felt not only by parents, but also by the students who receive worthless educations. She describes one D.C. graduate she knows who was forced to enroll in GED classes after high school because he lacked the basic language skills required to advance in the workplace.
...the D.C. school-choice provision should be a slam-dunk in Congress. Unfortunately, the program is in a precarious position because it directly benefits only those families living in the District. Even members of Congress who believe that D.C. parents deserve more options and who support the concept of school choice are being tempted to let this provision slip. These members are understandably anxious to go home to their own families and districts, not stay and fight for a program that doesn't affect their constituents. The teachers' unions — who view all plans that allow students to escape from government-run schools as a threat to their monopoly, and ultimately, to their paychecks — will oppose any omnibus bill that includes D.C. choice.
To be eligible for the scholarships, a four-person household would need to make less than $35,000 a year, which means they're families who can't afford to move where the schools are better. And the waiting lists for charter schools are long.
More about the plan can be seen here.
Posted by kswygert at November 20, 2003 12:03 PM