7/10/09- D.C. CITY COUNCIL SUPPORTS EXPANDING OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Contact: Andrew Campanella
Director of Communications Phone: 202-280-1985 Mobile: 202-276-1303
Alliance for School Choice Hails Unprecedented Local Support
07/10/2009
(Washington, D.C., July 10, 2009)—A majority of the District of Columbia City Council has signed on to a plan to save the popular Opportunity Scholarship Program from attacks by Congress and the Department of Education.
In a letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, the council members called the attacks on the program “grossly unfair and completely injurious to the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of the families involved.”
“We believe we simply cannot turn our backs on these families because doing so will deny their children the quality education they deserve,” the letter, highlighted in today’s Washington Post, states.
John Schilling, interim president of the Alliance for School Choice, praised the move by the council members to protect the educational choices of DC parents.
“This strong and unprecedented local support for this scholarship program raises serious questions about what Congress is really trying to accomplish here,” Schilling said. “This program has been an important part of the overall efforts by Mayor Fenty to improve the educational offerings to DC families. This is not the time to be talking about the demise of the Opportunity Scholarship Program.”
More than 1,700 children have received scholarships of up to $7,500 to attend participating private schools in the districts. The U.S. Department of Education, based on concerns coming from Congress that there was little local support, decided – after the students were accepted – to only allow existing scholarship recipients to continue to participate. This decision was made after the out of boundary process for D.C. public schools and after the enrollment deadline for a majority of D.C. public charter schools.
The council letter, which seeks to allow the program to continue in its current form – including allowing new students to participate this fall – notes that a recent evaluation of the program showed that reading scores of participating students had improved.
“We strongly urge you to stand with us in supporting these children and continuing the District’s Opportunity Scholarship Program,” the letter states.
The letter was signed by Councilmembers Marion Barry, Henry Thomas Jr., Michael Brown, Muriel Bowser, David A. Catania, Yvette Alexander, and Kwame Brown.
The Alliance for School Choice is a national leader in promoting school vouchers and scholarship tax credit programs. For more information, visit www.AllianceforSchoolChoice.org.
