Yesterday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan testified before the House Appropriations Committee about Obama’s fiscal year (FY) 2014 budget request for the Department of Education. Congressman Andy Harris (R–MD) took the opportunity to question Duncan about a glaring omission from the budget: funding for the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (DCOSP). The …
What pain has sequester wrought at the federal Department of Education? Apparently, not much. The 4,200-person agency has just hired a new “executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans.” Fox News reports that the position apparently commands a six-figure salary, as the new director—a …
Very few government programs can claim a positive return on taxpayer investment. The D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (DCOSP) is one of them. Launched in 2004, the DCOSP provides scholarships of approximately $8,500 for K–8 students or $12,000 for high school students from low-income families to attend private schools of their …
“I must go to college!” insists eight-year-old Pierre William. Such planning may seem unusual in a second grader. But Pierre is lucky. He’s attending a private school in the District of Columbia using funds from the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. That’s opened his eyes to the possibilities that only a …
The third annual National School Choice Week is officially underway. Once again, school choice advocates—including parents, teachers, schoolchildren and administrators, and many others—will come together to promote educational choice, with more than 3,600 events taking place nationwide. School choice is something to celebrate, because it gives families the power to …
The D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (DCOSP) has helped hundreds of D.C. schoolchildren leave underperforming public schools to attend schools of their parents’ choice. As The Washington Post reported Sunday about the school voucher program: In the District, it’s clear that vouchers have provided many children with an education at well-established …
What can we expect for education policy during President Obama’s second term? From No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waivers to school choice, education policy will surely heat up in the coming months. No Child Left Behind Waivers. NCLB’s blunt attempt to drive accountability from Washington has resulted in many schools …
Policy has real-life consequences—a fact that has been especially true for schoolchildren in Washington, D.C. For low-income schoolchildren in the nation’s capital, the Obama Administration’s opposition to school choice is taking its toll. In 2009, the future of the highly successful D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) was uncertain. Due in …
