Color us na??ve, but it seems like the stars may be aligning for a serious test of school vouchers in the District of Columbia. Tuesday, the House Government Reform Committee held hearings on a bill (H.R. 2556) that would provide private school tuition scholarships of up to $7,500 to low-income children in the nation's capital. Testifying in support were Secretary of Education Rod Paige, D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams, and Representative John Boehner of Ohio, chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. Even the Washington Post has come out in favor of a "federal school reform initiative that would provide ample support for a private tuition grant pilot program, an expanded flow of resources for traditional public schools and public charter schools, and a study component to evaluate student performance and the effect of competition in each of the three systems." Sounds good to us. As Dan Lips writes in National Review Online, these developments may just be the "tipping point" in the voucher wars, the place where the idea breaks into the mainstream in a big way. Government Reform chairman Dan Burton promises action on the proposal after the 4th of July legislative recess.
"The voucher initiative," editorial, Washington Post, June 24, 2003
"Tipping point for school choice?" by Dan Lips, National Review Online, June 24, 2003
"Paige testifies on school choice plan for District of Columbia," U.S. Department of Education press release, June 24, 2003