D.C. School Choice Voucher System

On the eve of the passing of the $410 billion spending bill, a controversial topic is the Washington D.C. Choice Incentive Act. Supporters of the Incentive Act fear that President Obama will cut funding causing almost 2,000 students who are attending private schools through the program back into the public school system. Is this fair? No. But the Incentive Act isn’t fair either.
What were you thinking Congress? The Incentive Act should never have been federally funded (it is the only federally funded school voucher program in the county) or brought into Congress to begin with. It is no secret that D.C. has one of the worst public school systems in the nation. Action should be taken to improve it. However, it should be dealt with on a state level like the other voucher programs.
The Incentive Act is a scholarship program passed in January of 2004. It allows funding of up to $7,500 a year to underprivileged children who are D.C. residents so that they can attend private schools. They are deemed eligible if their family income is 185 percent or more below the poverty line. Recipients can renew the scholarship every year for up to five years as long as they remain financially eligible.
Almost 2,000 students are currently receiving scholarships. Over 7,000 applied. The Center for Education Reform estimates about 70,000 children are in the D.C. public school system. What happens to the rest of the children who don’t qualify because they live 175 percent below the poverty line? Doesn’t Congress care about them? And what about the private Catholic schools all over Chicago that closed last year because of lack of funding or schools in other failing districts, doesn’t Congress care about them?
This program ignores the root of the problem-the atrocious public school system in D.C. Supporters feel that keeping the program alive will force the public school system to improve because of competition from private schools. Proponents feel that by taking the most informed parents and children out of the public system the education gap is widening even more.
Let the children who are currently attending private schools through voucher scholarships continue to reapply and finish up their 5 years. Then cut the program or make it available to all states in the country.