The Washington Post ran a terrific editorial this morning, urging Congressional leaders to reverse the effort to terminate the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program that’s helping 1,700 low-income students attend private schools in the nation’s capital:
We would like Mr. Obey and his colleagues to talk about possible “disruption” with Deborah Parker, mother of two children who attend Sidwell Friends School because of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. “The mere thought of returning to public school frightens me,” Ms. Parker told us as she related the opportunities — such as a trip to China for her son — made possible by the program. Tell her, as critics claim, that vouchers don’t work, and she’ll list her children’s improved test scores, feeling of safety and improved motivation.
Hopefully, President Obama and Congressional leaders will listen to Ms. Parker and the other D.C. families making their voices heard in this debate.
It’s encouraging to see increasing public calls to save the scholarship program. In the last week, the following groups urged the program’s continuation: Wall Street Journal, Cato Institute, Fordham Foundation, Freedom Works, Independent Women’s Forum, Americans for Tax Reform, and The Weekly Standard. Anyone who wants to make their voices heard can get in on the Washington Post’s online debate about the program.
