The Obama administration on Wednesday reiterated its opposition to Republican-created vouchers for District of Columbia students, a day before House Republicans were set to vote to expand the program.
The House is scheduled to consider a bill Thursday that would reauthorize the program under the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act, as well as offer scholarships to students already enrolled in private schools.
The Office of Management and Budget noted that the vouchers have yet to produce statistically significant gains, and said the administration’s focus is on improving the country’s public education system overall.
“Instead of using federal resources to support a handful of students in private schools, the federal government should focus its attention and available resources on improving the quality of public schools for all students,” OMB said in a statement of administration policy issued Wednesday.
The House bill “would extend this voucher program to students already attending private schools, thereby replacing existing private resources with public ones,” OMB stated.
However, OMB did not recommend that President Obama veto the bill if Congress passes it. OMB also stated that the administration will continue drawing on funds provided by the law to support students already using it until they finish school.
