I've already parsed the meaning of Arne Duncan's statements about Washington's school voucher program (he doesn't think vouchers ???ultimately are the answer??? because they're not ???ambitious??? enough).
Now it's time to give them the Reform-o-Meter treatment. When the news first broke yesterday, it appeared that a ???Red Hot??? rating was in the offing. After all, here's a Democratic Secretary of Education, voicing support for a program whose future is hanging in the balance, a program coming under attack from Congressional Democrats who want to pull the plug a year from now and send all of its participants back to the public schools from where they came.
But wiser men than me pointed out that he didn't actually say he thought the program should continue indefinitely; participating students should get to stay in their schools, he argued. But he didn't voice support for allowing new children to enter the program, nor did he say that children receiving scholarships should get to receive vouchers all the way through high school graduation???just until it's time to move on to a new school.
So where does that leave us? I think Duncan deserves a solid ???Warm??? for his comments. He still drew a distinction with those on the Hill that support the so-called ???Durbin language,??? named after Senator Dick Durbin, which would yank funding for the program unless Congress and the DC City Council officially re-authorize it, which isn't going to happen. If the Durbin crowd has its way, the program would come to an abrupt end next June; Duncan's calling for a reprieve is helpful and courageous. (And how interesting that three men from Illinois--Duncan, Durbin, and Obama--will determine the fate of an initiative in Washington, DC?)
Does this matter in the grand scheme of things? I'll rank it a 3 out of 10 for significance; it's a tiny program, and Duncan's position is quite measured, so I don't think it deserves more than that. But having any prominent Democrat defend a voucher program is newsworthy, and could open the door to more Democrats moving to support vouchers in the future, so it's certainly not irrelevant.
How much credit do you think Duncan deserves for making these statements? Cast your vote below.
