Heidi Alexander: “today I am offering an amendment to the Every Child Achieves Act that would allow $2,100 Federal scholarships to follow…”

“today I am offering an amendment to the Every Child Achieves Act that would allow $2,100 Federal scholarships to follow 11 million low-income children to any public or private accredited school of their parents' choice. This is a real answer to inequality in America, giving more children more opportunity to attend a better school. The Scholarships for Kids Act will cost $24 billion a year, paid for by redirecting 41 percent of the dollars now directly spent on Federal K-through-12 education programs. Often those dollars are diverted to wealthier schools. Scholarships for Kids would benefit only children of families that fit the Federal definition of poverty, which is about one-fifth of all school children--about 11 million a year. Allowing Federal dollars to follow students has been a successful strategy in American education for over 70 years. Last year, $31 billion in Federal Pell grants, and $100 billion in loans followed students to public and private colleges. Since the GI bill began in 1944, these vouchers have helped create a marketplace of 6,000 autonomous higher education institutions, the best system of higher education in the world. Our elementary and secondary education system is not performing as if it were the best in the world. U.S. 15-year-olds rank 28th in science and 36th in math.…”