Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to this bill to expand the failed private school voucher program in Washington, D.C. In this time of budget strife and cutbacks for public school districts all across the country, this is the wrong time to take Federal money away from public schools and give it to private schools. When I evaluate education or any other policy, I want to see the research on what works. Despite claims that the D.C. voucher system would improve academic achievement of D.C. students, multiple congressionally mandated Department of Education studies have concluded that the program has not improved these students' academic achievement in reading or math. {time} 1500 Further, the studies found the voucher program to have had no effect on student satisfaction, engagement, motivation, or students' feelings of security. The studies found no significant impact on students' career aspirations, participation in extracurricular activities, homework completion, reading for fun, or tardiness. Students with special education needs, English language learners, and gifted students in the voucher program were less likely to have access to key services than their peers in public school. Despite receiving public money under the D.C. voucher program, these private schools do not take all students. In addition, teachers at these private schools are not subject to the same certification requirements as those in D.C. public schools.…”