All over Washington we see a lot of people saying that they care about a lot of things. In a city full of politicians, you having people saying anything to get their desired outcome of events. However, there is one group that is being left out. DC’s poorest families are being forced to go to the worst schools in the country. No matter how many reports come out stating how much the kids that are in private schools are improving, opponents of school choice will not budge on the issue. The Ominbus spending bill requires the funds to be reauthorized by Congress, and they have no interest in doing that, even though a lot of them practice school choice.
The Wall Street Journal referenced an article by Science Magazine where they asked Sec. Duncan about where his daughter goes to school and if it was a determining factor of where they were going to live. He said this:
She goes to Arlington [Virginia] public schools. That was why we chose where we live, it was the determining factor . . . I didn’t want to try to save the country’s children and our educational system and jeopardize my own children’s education.
Sec. Duncan, not everyone is as privileged as you. Why deny kids and parents the same opportunities you have? Reason TV asked the same question. We’ve pointed out that Washington, DC spends almost twice as much on a student in a public school then it does to give a child a scholarship to go to a school that actually performs well. The Wall Street Journal calls this hypocrisy on school choice the new “Do as I say, not as I do” standard. When did this become acceptable?
There is hope though. An organization called DC Children First and they are having rally in support of school choice. Look for updates from the Heritage Foundation on the latest developments.
