Jonetta Rose Barras: Standing up for the children
By: Jonetta Rose Barras
Examiner Columnist
May 4, 2009
Democrats are trying to slam the door on more than 1,700 children in the nation’s capital, who are recipients of a federally funded scholarship program. But DC Children First, DC Parents for School Choice and other education advocates are desperately working to keep that door ajar.
That’s why they plan to rally Wednesday at Freedom Plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest. Scheduled for 1 to 2 p.m., the event is the latest in the battle to save the program, which provides up to $7,500 to low-income families for their children to attend any private or parochial school.
Earlier this year, House Democrats essentially killed the program, tacking on an amendment in the omnibus spending bill that required reauthorization before funds could be allocated. Strong reaction from around the country prompted an agreement that children currently in the program would not be kicked out.
But U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has decided to withhold funds for the next school year. That means hundreds of children who had been selected to receive scholarships will be forced to enroll in public or charter schools — but registration for many of those institutions, particularly the best ones, is already closed. Low-income children, once again, are left with no choice.
“Congress always says there’s no local support [for the program],” Elizabeth Plant, a spokeswoman for DC Children First, explained to me Friday when we talked about the upcoming rally. “We want to show there is an outpouring of support, particularly for the continuation of the scholarship program.”
Interestingly, Duncan’s decision flies in the face of evidence of the program’s success offered in a report produced by the Institute of Education Sciences — a division of the same agency he leads.
Last week, 14 senators — John Ensign, R-Nev.; Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn.; Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.; Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.; Robert Byrd, D-W.Va.; Susan Collins, R-Maine; Tom Coburn, R-Okla.; John McCain, R-Ariz.; Jim DeMint, R-S.C.; Judd Gregg, R-N.H.; Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.; George Voinovich, R-Ohio; John Cornyn, R-Texas; and Sam Brownback, R-Kan., appealed directly to Duncan. In a letter dated April 29, they asked him to “reverse your decision and allow funding to be used to allow the maximum number of low-income students trapped in under-performing schools to benefit from the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.”
Senators also accused Duncan of “effectively [ending] the program before Congress has had the opportunity to consider reauthorizing it.”
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., a charter school fan, has promised to hold a public hearing on reauthorizing the scholarship program. But Plant and voucher allies aren’t taking any chances. They’re looking for additional congressional support and are circulating a petition; more than 7,000 individuals have signed it.
All of this, including Wednesday’s rally where former D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams and former Councilman Kevin P. Chavous are expected to appear, is necessary only because Democrats are more concerned about their relationship with organized labor than they are the education and future of low-income children. What a shame.
Jonetta Rose Barras, author and political analyst, can be reached at rosebook1@aol.com.
