Political Quotes

“I rise today to offer an amendment which would allow school districts to use their title I funds for public school choice programs. To begin, I would like to emphasize three points. First, this amendment is strictly optional. There is no mandate. It is up to school districts to decide whether or not they want a public school choice program. Second, this amendment only allows for public school choice. Third, only children eligible for assistance for title I funds can participate. These children are the poor and educationally disadvantaged. In other words, the ones most in need of a choice. I hear a great deal on this floor about how we must help the poor, especially the children. Our goal with title I is to help these poor. What better way to help them than to allow them to get out of bad schools? What better way to help them than to allow school districts to set up programs that would allow the poor to attend a school that better suits their needs? As a reasonably well-off parent, I and my wife have the financial ability to send our two daughters to private schools or to move into a jurisdiction with better public schools. Luckily, the public school district in which I live is one of the best in the State, so my wife and I have made the choice to send our daughters to the schools in that district. But what about the poor children just miles away? Their parents are so poor that they cannot move into another district. They cannot afford a private school.”