Are Politics to Blame in the Attack on Ed Choice in Louisiana?

By Kevin P. Chavous

I have supported President Obama and known U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder for many years and have trusted that their motives are genuine.

But I am now extremely troubled by the motives behind the Dept. of Justice's desegregation lawsuit against the Louisiana scholarship program. In effect, the suit claims that allowing low income Louisiana kids to leave failing public schools in favor of better private schools somehow violates federal desegregation orders issued decades ago.

Since the lawsuit was filed last week, many have speculated as to the motives behind it; why was it filed?

Sec. Duncan Ignores Facts, Claims D.C. OSP Gains Similar to those Seen in Traditional D.C. Public Schools

As we reported last week, President Obama’s fiscal year 2014 budget includes no new funding for the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program, preventing many low-income students from accessing the successful program.

At a House Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing on April 11th on the president’s budget, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan discussed the administration’s vision for educating America’s students. When asked about the administration’s decision to not add additional funding for the D.C. OSP - a program as Maryland Representative Dr. Andy Harris (R) points out has made graduating from high school a reality for many students zoned for schools in need of improvement - Secretary Duncan said, “I’d be very surprised if those improvements were very dissimilar to what’s going on at the rest of D.C. public schools.”

Umm… what?

According to last federal evaluation of the program in 2010, 91 percent of children who used their D.C. opportunity scholarships graduated from high school - 21 percent more than those who sought but did not receive a scholarship and 30 percent higher than D.C. public schools. Subsequent research by the program administrator for 2010 and 2011 showed that 94 percent of scholarship students graduated and 89 percent of those students enrolled in college.

The success rate of the D.C. OSP is a far cry from the reality for many D.C. public school students. According to data released by the U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. ranked dead last in national graduation rates at 59 percent for the 2010-11 school year.

Additionally, D.C. is home to the largest disparity in the country between white and minority students who graduated during the 2010-2011 school year. Eighty-five percent of white students graduated, while only 55 percent of Latino and 58 percent of black students earned their diplomas.

While the D.C. OSP may not be the fix-all for every D.C. student, it is a viable option for many families looking for access to a high-quality education. The program has proven it can deliver real results. By funding the program at its full level, more D.C. families would be able to take advantage of the program, granting many more young people with access to an education that works best for their needs.

It’s Education Nation! So Let’s Tweet

We're at Education Nation today and tweeting all of the school choice news.  Here are some of our tweets (and we even made it on the Education Nation Twitter board):

Make sure you follow all of the Education Nation news by following @schoolchoicenow.

- American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice, MSG

In Midst of Chicago Strike, Focus Should be on Students, Choice

As the Chicago Teachers Union strike nears the conclusion of a second day, more than 400,000 students are left out of classrooms and, as a result, failing to get the education that is so fundamental to their growth.  

But even before the strike, there were far too many children trapped in failing schools that was providing them with a substandard education.

As negotiations between the CTU and city officials continue, lawmakers in Illinois and around the country would do well to take this time to think about our educational priorities. And while they sadly seem to have become collateral damage in a fight between adults, foremost among those priorities should be our children. 

And among the most important answers to that question is school choice.

If parents in Chicago—and everywhere else—had real options as to where to send their kids to school, they would have the opportunity to choose the education they feel is best for their children and, as a result, achievement, graduation rates, and college enrollment would all increase. With all options on the table, including private school choice, children, not special interests or money, would be the centerpiece of this discussion.

And Illinois has in the past seriously considered these options. Back in 2010, the Illinois Senate passed legislation that would have created a statewide voucher program, And leaders in Chicago and throughout the state continue to support vouchers. Among them:

• Chicago Public Schools Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard, who believes “it’s a matter of making sure the dollars follow children. If 500 traditional [Chicago Public School Students] would go to the parochial schools…the proportional share (of dollars) should to the school actually educating those children.”
• Chicago City Clerk Susana Mendoza, who for voted in favor of the voucher bill while serving in the State House in 2010
• State Senator James Meeks (D), who sponsored the voucher legislation in 2010
• The Chicago Tribune, which has printed dozens of editorials in support of bringing private school choice to the Windy City, including one as recently as two days ago

The Washington Post Gets it—Why Not the Administration?

The Washington Post’s editorial board has continued to stronglysupport the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program—a voucher program that allows children from low-income families to attend the private school of their parents’ choice.  The editorial board called the scholarship program “worthwhile,” but referred to the deal struck between the Congressional leaders and the Obama Administration “modest” and “disappointing.” An appropriate characterization, we think, since this deal was made after the Administration failed to comply with the deal it made with Congress last year.

In sum, the Administration agreed to the very agreement to which they agreed over a year ago.

The Administration’s opposition to the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program is puzzling on many fronts.  Never mind that the President himself attended a high-achieving private school thanks to a scholarship that helped his family with the tuition, and that sends his daughters to one of the city's most elite schools, which also participates in the voucher program. And again, never mind that Secretary Arne Duncan chose to live in Arlington, Virginia, which has some of the best-performing public schools in the nation.  The issue at hand is that the Administration continues to try to not fund a small federal program that is “enormously popular with D.C. residents, with demand far outstripping the number of vouchers [available].”

An Administration that claims to support both low-income families and expanded educational options certainly puts in a lot of effort to make sure families right here in the District don’t have access to strong educational options.  This a policy contradiction in its most clear form. After all, the Administration supports Pell Grants— effectively vouchers for post-secondary education—and public charter schools, not to mention a wide variety of policies that are targeted to low-income families, including housing vouchers. It's beyond unfair for District families to be locked out of the program because of arbitrary funding limits.

Those families want this program: nearly 10,000 families have applied to the program since it was created in 2004.  And the program works: participating students had a 91 percent graduation rate—more than 21 percentage points higher than those interested in the program who did not receive a scholarship—and 92 percent of parents report being satisfied with the program.

But what's perhaps most striking is the defense tactic taken by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who attempted to "clarify" the Administration’s position on the scholarship program to ensure that no one is confused. Take a look below, noting that, again, the president signed into law the five-year reauthorization of the program last April.

The Chicago Teachers Union President's Sad, Embarrassing Rant

A truly unfortunate video that's been making the rounds today shines a light on some terrible tactics used by special interest leaders out there who fight to maintain the status quo in their opposition to school choice and other education reforms.

Oftentimes, reform opponents have legitimate concerns with voucher and scholarship tax credit programs.

Other times, they're only out to launch public and proud attacks against others.

It was the latter case last month in Seattle, where the president of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), Karen Lewis, engaged in an absolutely embarrassing, childish, and despicable rant at an event that was supposed to be about social justice.

But when you hear what Lewis has to say, you'll realize that there's nothing justified—or dignified—about any of it.

Watch the video below, posted by the Education Action Group, to see four minutes that feature attacks the on everyone from the president to the education secretary to kids with speech impediments (and keep in mind that there's some inappropriate subject matter, so view accordingly).

Never Say "Never," Mr. Secretary

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan with moderator 
 John Merrow at today's Twitter town hall event.

During a Twitter town hall held today by Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education took questions via the social networking service regarding a host of education issues.

Of particular note was his response to a question regarding school choice, in which he took an even stronger stance than we've heard from him in the past. While he's never embraced the concept—and it was on his watch that the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program was shuttered in 2009—he has usually engaged in a fair bit of politicspeak, talking less about his opposition to vouchers and more about his unwavering to the public school system.

Today, however, he was unequivocal, saying during the town hall that he would "never support school voucher programs." Here's more:

I want great public education. A seven-year-old doesn't know whether he's going to a public school or a voucher school...we underinvest in public education and we need to put more resources in, not to support the status quo, but to improve.

It's funny that this is a statement about opposition to vouchers, because on a couple levels, it actually helps to reinforce the reasoning behind why we so ardently support vouchers for low-income kids.