|  | | FOR
IMMEDIATE
RELEASE |
|
Bipartisan
Group
of
Senators
Question
White
House
on
Cutting
School
Choice
Options
for
Low-Income,
Minority
Communities |
| |
Washington
–
Senator
Tim
Scott
(R-SC),
along
with
Senators
Ron
Johnson
(R-WI),
Dianne
Feinstein
(D-CA)
and
James
Lankford
(R-OK),
sent
a
letter
to
the
President
questioning
the
administration’s
decision
to
reduce
funding
for
the
school
choice
program
in
Washington,
DC,
as
well
as
terminating
all
future
funding
for
the
program,
in
the
President’s
Fiscal
Year
2015
budget
request.
The
Senators
voiced
their
support
for
the
D.C.
Opportunity
Scholarship
Program
(OSP),
which
serves
predominantly
low-income
and
minority
families
in
Washington,
DC.
The
four-year
high
school
graduation
rate
in
Washington
is
only
59
percent,
but
for
students
in
OSP
that
number
soars
to
90
percent.
Ninety-seven
percent
of
the
children
who
benefit
from
OSP
are
African-American
or
Hispanic. The
Senators
wrote,
“The
D.C.
Opportunity
Scholarship
Program
provides
scholarships
for
children
of
low-income
households
in
the
district
to
attend
schools
that
their
families
otherwise
could
never
possibly
afford.
Because
the
enrollment
wait
list
for
D.C.
Public
Charter
Schools
totals
more
than
22,000
applicants,
disadvantaged
Washington
students
have
limited
options
in
the
district’s
public
schools.
For
many
Washington
students,
the
D.C.
Opportunity
Scholarship
Program
is
the
only
hope
for
an
opportunity
to
lift
themselves
out
of
poverty.”
Our
release:
Senator
Scott
is
a
leading
advocate
for
school
choice
in
the
U.S.
Senate.
As
a
member
of
the
Senate
Education
Committee,
earlier
this
year
he
introduced
the CHOICE
Act,
to
provide
more
educational
options
for
low-income
communities,
children
with
special
needs
and
our
military
families,
held
a national
school
choice
conference
on
Capitol
Hill,
and
authored
an editorial
with
Louisiana
Governor
Bobby
Jindal
on
the
importance
of
school
choice.
The
full
text
of
the
letter
is
below:
Dear
President
Obama:
We
were
disappointed
to
learn
your
budget
proposal
cut
funding
for
the
D.C.
Opportunity
Scholarship
Program
and
terminated
future
funding
for
this
life-changing
program.
Public
schools
in
the
District
of
Columbia
are
some
of
the
worst
in
the
nation.
The
high
school
four-year
graduation
rate
in
the
district
is
only
59
percent.
Only
half
of
the
district’s
public
school
children
are
proficient
in
reading.
This
track
record
is
in
spite
of
spending
almost
$30,000
per
pupil.
The
D.C.
Opportunity
Scholarship
Program
provides
scholarships
for
children
of
low-income
households
in
the
district
to
attend
schools
that
their
families
otherwise
could
never
possibly
afford.
Because
the
enrollment
wait
list
for
D.C.
Public
Charter
Schools
totals
more
than
22,000
applicants,
disadvantaged
Washington
students
have
limited
options
in
the
district’s
public
schools.
For
many
Washington
students,
the
D.C.
Opportunity
Scholarship
Program
is
the
only
hope
for
an
opportunity
to
lift
themselves
out
of
poverty.
The
average
household
income
for
students
receiving
scholarships
under
the
program
is
below
$21,000
–
in
a
city
with
some
of
the
highest
costs
of
living
in
the
nation.
Two-thirds
of
these
children
come
from
families
that
receive
food
stamps
and/or
aid
from
the
Temporary
Assistance
for
Needy
Families
program.
Ninety-seven
percent
of
the
children
who
benefit
from
this
program
are
African
American,
Hispanic
and/or
Latino.
Despite
the
socioeconomic
challenges
facing
these
students,
90
percent
of
students
who
earn
scholarships
through
the
D.C.
Opportunity
Scholarship
Program
graduate
from
high
school,
and
almost
all
of
those
students
go
on
to
attend
college.
The
program’s
success
and
popularity
among
Washington
families
is
reflected
in
the
more
than
3,600
applications
received
for
the
2014-2015
school
year.
Simply
state,
this
program
works.
We
therefore
urge
you
to
support
the
full,
continuous
funding
of
a
program
that
is
proven
to
transform
the
lives
of
thousands
of
Washington
children,
the
D.C.
Opportunity
Scholarship
Program.
Sincerely, Senator
Ron
Johnson
Senator
Dianne
Feinstein
Senator
James
Lankford
Senator
Tim
Scott
|
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Senator
Tim
Scott
represents
the
great
state
of
South
Carolina
in
the
United
States
Senate.
For
more
information,
please
visit
the
Senator's website,
follow
him
on
Twitter,
Instagram, and
on Facebook. | |
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