Political Quotes

“I rise today with my colleagues Senator Ron Johnson, Senator Tim Scott, and Senator Cory Booker to introduce the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act, bipartisan legislation to extend the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. I am a long-time supporter of this important program, which provides low-income students residing in the District of Columbia the opportunity to improve academically by attending a private school of their choice. Without this platform, D.C.'s most disadvantaged students would not have access to a high-quality education, including smaller class sizes and effective curriculum. That is not right. All students should have the same opportunity to learn and thrive. The Opportunity Scholarship is a successful and transformative program. It has shown promising results in raising student achievement. According to data released by the program administrator for the 2014- 2015 school year, 90 percent of scholarship students graduated from high school and 88 percent of those graduates are enrolled in a 2- or 4-year college or university. The Opportunity Scholarship Program's graduation rate is more than 30 percentage points higher than D.C. Public Schools' rate, which stands at only 58 percent, well below the national average of 81 percent. For the 2015-2016 school year, there were more than 8,500 names on waiting lists at D.C. charter schools, an 18 percent increase over last year.…”