WASHINGTON – A South Carolina Republican pushed Tuesday for more school choice, giving more students the option of attending private schools, even as much of Congress’ recent reform efforts focus on restructuring national oversight of public education.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., speaks at the American Enterprise Institute on Tuesday on school choice. (Joshua Rosenblat/MNS)
Sen. Tim Scott said he would reintroduce a bill that would increase opportunities for school choice through an expansion of federal funding to help children with disabilities and kids from military families go to private schools. Scott’s legislation, which fell short in the Senate last year, would also support a growing a school choice program in Washington.
“School choice is a leap, not a step, in the right direction,” Scott said in a speech at the American Enterprise Institute. “At the end of the day, this journey is not about the numbers. It’s about people. It’s about our children.”
The event was a part of National School Choice Week, which runs through Jan. 31.
In particular, Scott said his CHOICE Act — Creating Hope and Opportunity for Individuals and Communities through Education — would increase funding for states to create or expand school choice programs for students with disabilities. It would also establish a test program on five military bases in underperforming school districts through the Defense Department that would give students scholarships to attend private schools.
The CHOICE Act also includes expanded funding for Washington’s DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, which provides scholarships to low-income students.
While Scott’s bill would not impact a very large percentage of American students and families, it would provide more federal dollars for school choice, a policy allowing families to choose the schools their children attend with the help of programs such as vouchers.
With a new national education bill expected to hit Congress by late February, Scott said he is looking forward to working with other senators to include school choice reform in the comprehensive overhaul of the No Child Left Behind Law.
“My hope is that we’ll have an opportunity to have a robust discussion on how to make sure that what we see and talk about today either strengthens or expands the opportunities for school choice, especially in those underperforming areas… In my perfect world, we would allow much of the [federal] government’s funding to go to a private school, not just public schools,” Scott said.
Currently, No Child Left Behind does not offer funding that would allow a large percentage of parents to choose for the children to attend private schools.
This situation, say some supporters of school choice, allows for education to be viewed as a public good instead of through the lens of the traditional marketplace. That lowers overall quality, they argue.
“If we don’t allow parents to be consumers of their own child’s education…we’re not going to drive quality and…we’re setting low expectations. I think the more consumerism that goes on, the more ability to shape the new citizen, to shaping our children, is to provide options. We have to grow the market,” Kara Kerwin, president of the Center for Education Reform, said in a panel at AEI after Scott’s speech.
Critics say school choice programs potentially weaken existing public school system, the bedrock of American education.
Opponents, such as the National Education Association and National School Boards Association often point to voucher programs as a way to reallocate funding away from public schools, ultimately hurting the entire education system.
“Vouchers divert attention, commitment and dollars from public schools to pay private school tuition for a few students, including many who already are in private school,” Katherine Shek, manager of legislative content for the school boards group, said in a statement opposing the CHOICE Act in 2014.
Scott, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, did not attend the committee’s hearing on reforming NCLB on Tuesday.
