DC private school vouchers - time to let it fade away

February 25, 12:04 PMDC Ward 5 Community ExaminerRobert Vinson Brannum

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Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D-DC) with Senators Harry M. Reid (D-NV), Joseph I. Lieberman (I-CT), Shadow Senator Michael D. Brown (D-DC) and Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) after a Senate procedural vote on DC voting rights bill. (DC gov't. photo)

In 2004, former President George W. Bush and Congress imposed on District of Columbia residents the nation's first federally sponsored private school voucher program, the District of Columbia School Choice Incentive Act of 2003, now known as the District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program.  The program is a pilot project to last five years providing vouchers up to $7,500 for an estimated 1,800 to 2,000 students.  Students would use the vouchers at participating private schools in the District. It is now up for review in the Congress and a strong supporter of private school vouchers, House Minority Leader John Boehner has sought by a political and magical slight of rhetorical hand to embarrass President Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, other House Democratic leaders, and Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton into extending this voucher program.

Currently working its way through the House is a $410 billion FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill.  Included in the bill is funding to allow Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to continue to offer private school vouchers for District students. However, there is a provision requiring the approval of the Council of the District of Columbia and reauthorization by the Congress. This language has upset Representative Boehner and other supporters of private school vouchers.  They assert this provision guts the District private school voucher program. 

In a recent press release from his office Representative Boehner says the congressionally imposed voucher program was “groundbreaking”, had “bipartisan support”, and was “demonstrating results”.  What Representative Boehner did not include in his press release and what other supporters of the District's voucher program overlook is a quote from the June 2008 U.S. Department of Education evaluation of the District’s voucher program which stated, “After 2 years, there was no statistically significant difference in test scores in general between students who were offered an OSP scholarship and students who were not offered a scholarship. Overall, those in the treatment and control groups were performing at comparable levels in mathematics and reading.”

When Congress authorized this program it mandated a rigorous evaluation by the Department of Education.  Because this evaluation did not validate the promises of private school voucher supporters, they now seek to ignore it.  They also disregard past polls indicating District residents are not in favor of private school vouchers and view this private voucher program as a transfer of public monies from District public schools.

This private school voucher program should end not only because the U.S. Department of Education review says there was not a greater academic benefit to District youth, but also because the voucher program was passed ignoring the overall opinion of District residents.  Members of the Council and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty should not overlook past opinions of District residents.  At a time when the Congress is considering legislation to give District residents a voting member in the House of Representatives, it would be a step in the right direction for Congress to let this private school voucher program fade away and let District voters express their will along with having a voting House member elected by District voters the opportunity to lead it – if this is the CHOICE of District residents.