Norton Opposes New School Voucher Eligibility Cap - December 11, 2006

Norton Opposes New School Voucher Eligibility Cap Destroying Low-Income Profile of D.C. Program
December 11, 2006

Washington, DC--Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today released the following statement in response to an increase in the income limit for D.C. students in the voucher program, approved by Congress in the tax extenders bill over the weekend:

“Republican and Democratic appropriators alike helped beat a brazen attempt to fundamentally alter the voucher program by eliminating altogether any income limit for voucher families, even though the controversial program (which got through the House with a bare majority) was authorized only as a low-income pilot program to test whether the achievement levels of low-income D.C. residents from the worst D.C. schools were raised because of attending private schools. However, there was no conference, and the Senate provision was attached to the tax extenders bill because of bipartisan objections by appropriators. Even though the present language is somewhat less objectionable, it nevertheless destroys the low-income rationale for the program because the language applies to all 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 over-income students in the program regardless of their circumstances.”

When approved by the Senate, the change drew requests for two Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports, now being prepared, because of the absence of hearings or other oversight of the program thus far. When vouchers were initially proposed by the administration, Norton asked that funds instead be allotted to the popular charter schools program. She was able to get annual funds for D.C. traditional and public charter schools included in the voucher bill. Letters from Congresswoman Norton, and from Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) (who supported the voucher initiative) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) opposing elimination of the income limit are available via email and fax upon request.