The following information was released by the office of New Jersey Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen:
U.S. Representative Rodney Frelinghuysen (NJ-11) and House Republican Leader John Boehner (OH) today introduced a resolution in support of the successful, yet endangered, private school scholarship program in the District of Columbia. When approved, the concurrent resolution will declare that it the Sense of the House of Representatives that It is in the national interest of the United States to continue the District’s Opportunity Scholarship Program (DCOSP).
The reality is that high quality schools have always been available to those who can afford them. The scholarship program in Washington opened the door for parents to rescue their children from failing schools and gave them an opportunity to place them in an environment where every child is encouraged to achieve success, Frelinghuysen said. 37 percent of D.C.s adult population reads at the lowest levels of functional literacy! This is a wake-up call that this program is needed!
The DC school choice program has made a real difference for thousands of low-income students in our nations capital over the past six years, said House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH). Our nations children regardless of income deserve to have the best education possible, and that means letting their parents have a choice regarding the schools they will attend. Im disappointed that Democratic leaders in Congress have worked to end this program at a time when so many students in Washington are counting on it to give them a chance at a better future.
H.R. 1105, the Omnibus Appropriations bill for Fiscal 2009 which will be signed into law by the President, contains a provision which, in effect, will end the DCOSP by requiring that it be reauthorized by Congress and approved by the D.C. government to receive federal funding after the 2009-10 academic year. Experts acknowledge that there is little chance that these actions will occur.
The D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program was established in 2003 under Frelinghuysens leadership as the Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on the District of Columbia. During the 2008-09 school year, over 1,700 DCOSP students are attending 49 non-public schools of their choice. The average annual income for these families is approximately $22,736.
While this program affects families in our Nations capital, it is also very important to children in every state, said Frelinghuysen. I believe that with these scholarships, DC was showing that there was an effective way to provide educational opportunity for disadvantaged children in poverty. But well never know because Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid are short-circuiting the program and the study designed to effectively evaluate it.
Frelinghuysen was joined in introducing the resolution by Republican Leader Boehner and the Ranking Republican on the House Committee on Education and Labor, Rep. Buck McKeon (CA).
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