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Washington
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Affirming
his
belief
that
every
child
should
have
access
to
a
high
quality
education,
U.S.
Senator
Tim
Scott
(R-SC),
a
leading
voice
for
school
choice
in
the
U.S.
Senate,
has
offered
S.Amdt.
2132
to
the
Every
Child
Achieves
Act
(ECAA)
to
allow
Title
I
funds
to
follow
low-income
children
and
strengthen
educational
options
for
their
parents.
Currently
being
debated
on
the
Senate
floor,
the
Every
Child
Achieves
Act
(ECAA)
would
reauthorize
the
Elementary
and
Secondary
Education
Act
(ESEA),
the
principal
law
governing
the
federal
role
in
K-12
education.
“Every
child,
regardless
of
the zip
code they
live
in,
should
have
access
to
a
quality
education”
said
Senator
Scott.
“Parents
and
students
are
best
served
when
they
have
educational
freedom,
whether
it’s
through
public
schools,
charter
schools,
magnet
programs,
virtual
learning,
private
schools,
homeschooling
communities
or
other
options. My
amendment
would
give
states
increased
opportunities
to
ensure
that
low-income
families
and
their
children have
more
choices
when
selecting their
learning
environments."
Senator
Scott’s
amendment
will:
- Allow
states
the
option
to
have
their
Title
I
funds
follow
low-income
children
wherever
they
attend
within
their
school
district
–
including
to
the
private
school
of
their
parent’s
choice.
- Permit
public
schools
to
receive
funding
based
on
the
number
of
low-income
children
attending
those
schools.
The
schools
then
would
be
able
to
use
those
funds
in
according
to
the
needs
of
their
student
population.?
- Ensure
participating
private
schools
will
be
academically
accountable
to
the
parents
of
the
low-income
children
and
protects
against
discrimination
based
on
race,
color,
or
national
origin.?
- Require
the
Secretary
of
Education
to
conduct
an
evaluation
of
graduation
rates
and
parental
satisfaction
for
low-income
children
whose
parents
have
chosen
to
enroll
in
private
schools.
According
to
the
U.S.
Department
of
Education,
Title
I
funds
"provide
financial
assistance
to
local
educational
agencies
(LEAs)
and
schools
with
high
numbers
or
high
percentages
of
children
from
low-income
families
to
help
ensure
that
all
children
meet
challenging
state
academic
standards.
Federal
funds
are
currently
allocated
through
four
statutory
formulas
that
are
based
primarily
on
census
poverty
estimates
and
the
cost
of
education
in
each
state."
Enacting
greater
school
choice
options
for
all
students
continues
to
be
a
be
a
central
focus
of
Senator
Scott’s
legislative
work
as
a
member
of
the
Senate
Education
Committee.
Earlier
this
year,
he
hosted
“Choosing
Excellence:
A
Forum
on
the
Freedom
to
Choose
Academic
Excellence
for
Every
Child,”
a
daylong
forum
that
brought
together
nationally
recognized
school
choice
advocates,
experts,
and
practitioners,
as
well
as
parents
and
students
to
Capitol
Hill
to
discuss
the
urgency
of
promoting
academic
excellence
for
every
child
across
the
country.
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