[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 108 (Thursday, August 1, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7936-S7937]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. GREGG (for himself, Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. Craig, and Mr. 
        Brownback):
  S. 2866. A bill to provide scholarships for District of Columbia 
elementary and secondary students, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Governmental Affairs.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, like many of my colleagues in the House and 
the Senate, I applaud the Supreme Court's recent ruling in Zelman v. 
Simmons-Harris. The Court found that a publically funded private school 
choice program was Constitutional and does not violate the 
establishment clause of the Constitution. The Court's decision finally 
puts to rest the constitutionality arguments which have long been 
raised by those who oppose providing choice to low-income families.
  Within hours of the Court decision, Congressman Armey introduced H.R. 
5033, the District of Columbia Student Opportunity Scholarship Act of 
2002. I join my House colleague in introducing the companion bill, here 
in the Senate. Specifically, these bills provide scholarships to some 
of the District's poorest students to enable them to select the public 
or private school of their choice from participating schools in the 
District and the surrounding areas. This program, like the Cleveland 
program upheld by the Supreme Court, would allow families to choose 
from a wide variety of providers, including religious schools.
  Both bills are nearly identical to the 1997 D.C. Student Scholarship 
Act. Although that bill had passed both houses of the Congress and more 
than a thousand D.C. families had expressed interest in the scholarship 
program, President Clinton vetoed the bill.
  Why should we extend the option of private schools to poor families? 
Because, as is true in many urban areas, thousands of students in the 
District of Columbia are in need of high quality educational options. 
Seventy-two percent of D.C. fourth graders tested below basic 
proficiency in reading and seventy-six percent tested below basic 
proficiency in mathematics. This means that three quarters of 4th 
graders do not possess elementary reading skills and can not complete 
simple arithmetic problem. Unfortunately, these statistics do not 
improve dramatically as children grow older. Even in the older grades, 
the majority of students are found to be struggling with math and 
reading.
  Tragically, lagging academic performance isn't the only problem 
plaguing many of the public schools in D.C., there is also the issue of 
safe, secure classrooms. In 1999, nearly one in five D.C high school 
students reported, that at some point in the preceding month, they felt 
too unsafe to go to school, while nearly one in every seven students 
admitted to bringing a weapon to school.
  Although the creation of charter schools in the District has led to 
some choice for families lucky enough to get a spot for their child, 
there are simply not enough charter schools to accommodate the growing 
clamor of D.C. parents to obtain a better education for their children. 
Interestingly enough, the lack of space in charter schools is 
compounded by the City's refusal to free a handful of the 30 surplus 
public school buildings--buildings, which in some cases, are just 
sitting there abandoned and unused.
  D.C. parents have witnessed superintendents come and go, and have 
been given the promise of education reform and improvements that never 
materialized. Yet, all the while their children remain trapped in 
failing schools. This is unacceptable to them and should be wholly 
unacceptable to my colleagues. The thousands of families clamoring for 
better educational opportunities for their children in our nation's 
capital need an immediate solution.
  As Frederick Douglass, quoted by Justice Clarence Thomas in the 
recent Zelman decision, said, ``Education. . . . means emancipation. It 
means light and liberty. It means the uplifting of

[[Page S7937]]

the soul of the man into the glorious light of truth, the light by 
which men can only be made free.''
  Unfortunately, for many families, that freedom remains unobtainable 
within D.C.'s current educational system. I encourage my colleagues to 
seriously consider this important bill. We have allowed too many 
students to languish in failing schools. Let's provide a way for real 
education, and doing so, help make the freedom Douglass refers to a 
reality for some of the district's neediest children.
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