Feeney Says: "Leave it to DC Liberals" Condemns Efforts to Kill Parental Choice Program for Underprivileged Kids

Feeney Says: "Leave it to DC Liberals"
Condemns Efforts to Kill Parental Choice Program for Underprivileged Kids

(Oviedo, FL) - Tom Feeney (R-Oviedo) today condemned Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton's (D-DC) efforts to scrap the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program that is backed by a nonpartisan coalition and provides $7,500 scholarships to low-income children enrolled in underperforming schools to allow them to attend the private school of their choice. The program saves taxpayers money and according to researchers at Georgetown University, 90% of the families express high satisfaction with the program.

"Leave it to out-of-touch DC liberals to try to kill a federally funded program that actually works.

"Del. Holmes Norton doesn't need to look any further than her own backyard for proven parental choice success. However, if she needs more examples, I'm happy to discuss with her the successes we've had in Florida with the tax credit scholarship program, under which 20,000 low income children are enrolled in private schools chosen by their parents. Forty percent of these children are African American, and thirty percent are Hispanic. This program was just expanded with support from a majority of the Legislative Black Caucus in the Florida legislature.

"Parental choice is the civil rights issue of today. Whether you're a millionaire, middle-class, or dirt poor, you should have the right and the power to determine your child's education," said Feeney.

What do the parents say? A few examples highlighted in the Georgetown report:

· "My youngest, her reading skills had [gone] up tremendously. Before she got to Catholic school, she was the type of child who didn't socialize a lot. She was quiet, didn’t participate when it came to teacher asking, ‘Raise your hand.’ But now since she attended Catholic school, she participates, she raises her hand, she reads a lot.”

· "All my expectations were met. The only expectations I actually had were for her to be in a more focused group, smaller class sizes, and things of that nature. All my expectations were met as far as that’s concerned.”

Washington Post
Wall Street Journal

##