The Center for Education Reform has issued a statement protesting the omission of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarships program from the 2015 Obama Budget Proposal. This is a school choice support program that has been funded in some previous years to enable low income high performing students in the District of Columbia to leave low performing schools and attend better performing schools.
Here is the press release from the Center for Education Reform:
D.C. OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIPS RECEIVE ZERO REQUESTED FUNDS
President Obama Once Again Puts Popular Program on the Chopping Block
WASHINGTON, DC – Showing little regard for low-income families who rely on school choice for a chance at success, the Obama administration has yet again allocated zero funding in its budget for the widely popular and successful D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP). Since 2004, approximately 6,000 low-income students have benefitted from obtaining scholarships to pursue a better education, and escape a failing school.
“The refusal to allocate funding for the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program directly violates the sentiment of the 2011 SOAR Act, which was designed to secure future funding for these vital pathways to more and better opportunities,” said Kara Kerwin, president of The Center for Education Reform. “The Obama administration’s continued refusal to embrace the OSP in budgetary requests is unacceptable.”
The evidence that the D.C. OSP works is irrefutable. Scholarship recipients graduated high school at an average rate of 93 percent between 2010 and 2012, and enrolled in college at a 90 percent rate.
“It’s critical that members of Congress acknowledge the longstanding benefits of the OSP, and remedy this funding shortfall,” Kerwin added.
###
Founded in 1993, to bridge the gap between policy and practice, The Center for Education Reform is the pioneer and leading voice for substantive change that transforms learning opportunities and outcomes for America’s children. Additional information about CER and its activities can be found at www.edreform.com.
