The Senate rejected a resolution Wednesday along party lines that sought to repeal a recently finalized Department of Education rule restricting the disbursement of funds for the federal Charter School Program.
The resolution, which invoked the Congressional Review Act in a bid to overturn the regulation, failed on a 49-49 party-line vote, with all Democrats opposing the measure, despite the fact that several Democratic senators had expressed concerns about the regulations when they were proposed earlier this year.
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Moments before the Senate began voting, the resolution’s sponsor, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), implored his colleagues to vote for the bill, which he said was “a vote for common sense.”
“Sixty-eight percent of Democrats, 67% of independents, 68% of African Americans, [and] 72% of Hispanics agree with some form of school choice,” Scott said. “This is simply a public charter school issue … stopping the Biden administration from destroying one of the most important vehicles for human prosperity for the kids of our country.”
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The rule, which was finalized in July, contains what opponents say are burdensome requirements for charter schools seeking federal funding under the Charter School Program. The final rule differed greatly from the initial proposal, which education policy experts said would have forced up to 10% of charter schools to close.
The Biden administration had faced bipartisan backlash for the initial version of the rule. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) were among the members of the president’s own party who criticized the proposal.
But on Wednesday, Bennet and other Democrats who had expressed concerns about the regulation all voted to uphold it.
In brief remarks before the vote, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) said that passing the resolution would create “unnecessary chaos” that would delay the disbursement of grants under the federal Charter School Program and that administrations regularly revised the rules surrounding the program.
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“This is a common step in administrating the Charter School Program, one the previous administration took as well,” Murray said. “The latest rule included some commonsense ideas to increase community and parent involvement, to strengthen fiscal transparency, and to make sure taxpayer dollars are being used properly.”
