Written by Don Byrd
In a deal with the Department of Education, the White House has agreed to a plan that would extend the nation’s only federally funded school voucher program. Only children currently enrolled in the program will allowed to make use of the funds. The Washington Post reports:
In a statement Monday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said the administration and Boehner had agreed to increase “the current enrollment of about 1615 to approximately 1700 students for the coming year to allow for a statistically valid evaluation of the program,” as Congress has mandated that the department conduct such a study.
“The President and I are committed to ensuring that the education of the children currently in the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program is not disrupted,” Duncan said. “Beyond that commitment, however, we remain convinced that our time and resources are best spent on reforming the public school system to benefit all students and we look forward to working with Congress in a bipartisan manner to advance that goal.”
Most voucher recipients use the taxpayer funds to attend private religious schools.
