Dick Durbin: “I am not suggesting changing the test. The same test should be administered in a private school as administered in a…”

“I am not suggesting changing the test. The same test should be administered in a private school as administered in a public school. I am suggesting to the Senator, as she has written this amendment, the 2003-2004 testing in the D.C. public schools, her standard for 5 years only tests every other grade. By 2005 every grade will be tested. It is not the substantive test that is the issue. It is a question of whether every grade will be tested every year. The reason I raise this, and I hope the Senator agrees, should have been worked out in the education committee after hearings and markup in the amendment process. We are doing it on the fly, on the floor, creating the first private school voucher program in America and discussing as we go. That is my concern.”