School Vouchers in DC

I was fully immersed in my committee work in early 2003, when Howard Fuller called me and asked if I was open to having a conversation with Education Secretary Rod Paige about vouchers in DC. If there ever was a more toxic concept to Democratic party loyalists and folks associated with traditional public schools than school vouchers, I do not know what it is. No issue in education is as controversial or politically charged. The concept, standing alone, seems simple enough: School vouchers allow parents to receive scholarships to send their children to eligible private schools. These state scholarships are usually targeted to students who come from low-income families, have exceptional learning needs, or who currently attend failing public schools. Vouchers are funded through state tax dollars, allowing parents to “vote with their feet” and select the best schools for their children, public or private. Nationwide, there are twenty-one school voucher programs in existence, and research has demonstrated that vouchers increase student achievement, boost graduation rates, and can even help public schools improve. They have also led to high satisfaction rates in both students and parents. ¹