A big win for Truth, Justice, and the American Way, over the forces of evil in the Teacher's Unions. :>)
September 6, 2003
House Approves a Voucher Plan for Poor Washington Students
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - [The New York Times]
WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 - The House narrowly approved private-school vouchers for poor Washington students today, recharging a debate that has implications beyond the capital.
Under the House plan, passed on a vote of 205 to 203, the federal government would for the first time put aside public money for students to get private schooling. A similar measure for Washington students is making headway in the Senate, where it has the support of not only the Republican majority but also some Democrats, and President Bush has championed the idea.
The House measure, which envisions a five-year pilot program and allows $10 million for financing the first year of it, would let at least 1,300 students switch to private schools; the number could grow if some students received less than the maximum of $7,500 a year. The vote came as an amendment to a bill outlining the capital city's budget, which the House is expected to approve next week.
The plan for Washington is significant nationally because any movement toward or away from school vouchers is watched closely, said Todd Ziebarth, an analyst for the Education Commission of the States, a nonprofit provider of education policy information.
"To see the federal government put in place a voucher program for the D.C. public schools," Mr. Ziebarth said, "would push the momentum toward the proponents: `Look, the federal government has done it for D.C. Shouldn't we do it for our urban schools as well?' "
Still, with states in their worst financial shape in decades, he said, this is not a time when many state leaders will be inclined to start earmarking money for private schools, although six states already offer some form of vouchers.
Supporters of the amendment passed today, who included only 4 Democrats along with 201 Republicans, said students should not be forced to stay in a Washington school system notorious for academic struggles. Under the program, priority would go to students at schools officially identified as needing improvement.
"Wealthy people in America have school choice, but poor people don't, and many of those families in poor neighborhoods cannot afford a private option," said Representative Dave Weldon, Republican of Florida. "And unfortunately, many of those types of situations are in the District of Columbia."
Representative John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, said the plan would give hope to students who attend "the worst schools in America."
Critics said that vouchers amounted to an abandonment of public schools and that the money would be better used to improve teachers and repair crumbling school buildings.
Eleanor Holmes Norton, the city's nonvoting delegate to Congress, said Washington residents did not want to be the subject of a national experiment.
"If you vote for vouchers," Ms. Norton said, "you will send a signal to every private school in the country, to every organization of private schools, that this is the time to bring pressure to get the same private-school deal that the District of Columbia got."
Representative Danny K. Davis, Democrat of Illinois, said: "It's D.C. today. It's Chicago tomorrow, St. Louis, New Orleans, Los Angeles next week, then it's all of America."
The message, Mr. Davis said, "goes far beyond Washington, D.C."
But an amendment by Ms. Norton to strike the $10 million choice provision died on a 203-to-203 vote.
nytimes.com |
