Norton Makes Progress on Current Funding of Fly-By-Night Schools in D.C. Voucher Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, the House Oversight and Government Committee (OGR), as expected, passed a bill to reauthorize the District of Columbia private school voucher program on a party-line vote, but Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) was able to make some progress on her effort to eliminate fly-by-night voucher schools, which rely solely on the voucher program for their existence. At the markup, Norton introduced a two-part amendment to the program. The first was to limit the percentage of voucher students in a school to 50% of the school's total enrollment to eliminate start-up schools that rely solely or largely on federal funding. However, Norton believes a new requirement in the bill that voucher schools become accredited will help eliminate many of the fly-by-night schools. Norton's Republican colleagues said they would work with her addressing fly-by-night schools before the bill goes to the House floor. The second part of the Norton amendment reinserted the randomized control trial Congress required in the two previous authorizations to evaluate the program's effectiveness. The control trial amendment failed, Norton believes, because the scientifically grounded study Congress previously required found that the voucher program had not improved the academic achievement of students as measured by math and reading test scores.

Norton spoke with the voucher students, teachers and parents from St. Anthony School and Archbishop Carrol High School in attendance at the committee markup, all of whom would have stayed in the voucher program under a compromise that had been offered by President Obama and Norton, which would have allowed all current voucher students to be funded until graduation, but no new students would have been admitted.

"Nothing could have stopped a Republican majority bill sponsored by the Speaker as he leaves Congress – not even my compromise, supported by President Obama, to allow all current voucher students to be funded until graduation," Norton said. "However, in light of the bill's failure to meet its stated aim of improving math and reading test scores, the progress we made on fly-by-night schools was worth the effort. I was pleased to talk extensively with voucher students, teachers and parents before and after the markup. The irony is that waiting lists have kept many from attending D.C. public charter schools that residents prefer and the voucher schools have no waiting lists."