[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 93 (Monday, June 23, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1326]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       INTRODUCTION OF DC PARENTAL CHOICE INITIATIVE ACT OF 2003

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TOM DAVIS

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 23, 2003

  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce 
legislation, along with Education and Workforce Committee Chairman John 
Boehner, that would provide relief to some of the long-standing 
challenges facing students in the District of Columbia public school 
system. The ``DC Parental Choice Initiative Act of 2003,'' H.R. 2556, 
would authorize the appropriation of $15 million in new Federal funding 
to the District of Columbia to provide individual students up to $7,500 
in scholarship money to be used at private schools of their own 
choosing in the District of Columbia.
  One thing is clear: too many kids in our Nation's capital are not 
getting the education they need and fully deserve. Lower-income 
families concerned about the quality and safety of their children in 
District of Columbia public schools should not have to resign to 
sending their children to under-performing schools where students are 
not adequately motivated to perform.
  At the same time, a school should not take for granted that it will 
automatically enroll every child that lives within a given radius of 
the school. Instead, that school should be striving everyday to ensure 
that it provides a learning environment that will attract new students 
and parents.
  Over the past decade, Congress has spent considerable time and 
resources working with the District to reform its education system. 
Enacted laws, such as the ``District of Columbia School Reform Act of 
1995'' and the ``D.C. College Access Act of 1999,'' have provided an 
impetus to level the playing field and brighten the future for D.C. 
students.
  However, the ability of D.C. schools to meet key performance goals 
has long been plagued by financial mismanagement as well as a host of 
other problems. Despite concerted efforts by local officials to improve 
the public school system, little evidence of progress in improving 
academic performance is available.
  Poor academic achievement scores are unsettling to say the least: 
Only 6 percent of 4th graders in the District tested ``proficient'' or 
higher in math.
  Standardized test scores remain stagnant for D.C. public schools: the 
average D.C. SAT score is 799 while the national average is 1020.
  The National Assessment of Educational Process just released a 
``Reading 2000'' Report Card: the District's school children were 
ranked as the worst readers in the country.
  The disparity is too glaring to ignore. The drop out rate is about 40 
percent. The current condition of schools is unacceptable.
  I have traditionally opposed Federal dollars going to private schools 
because I think Federal dollars ought to be targeted to public schools. 
But, for the District, I think we have to ask this question: Wouldn't 
more choices funded by Federal dollars provide a needed alternative for 
low-income children attending low-performing schools?
  As the United States Representative representing a district 
neighboring the District of Columbia, I have worked with the District 
on a number of initiatives to improve the standard of living in the 
District of Columbia, and along with it, the standard of living of the 
entire capital region. That is why I cannot ignore the grave challenges 
facing the District of Columbia public school system and that is why I 
am introducing the ``DC Parental Choice Incentive Act of 2003.''
  The goal of school choice in the District of Columbia is to be an 
addition, not a subtraction. We all want the District's education 
system to improve, and this is at the very least a short-term effort to 
do something about it.
  The bill I am introducing today, along with Chairman Boehner, would 
expand educational opportunities to D.C. students in under-performing 
elementary and secondary schools. The D.C. Choice Program would be 
established through a competitive process administered by the U.S. 
Department of Education to ensure that the public or private entity 
administering the initiative would be dedicated and capable of carrying 
out a top-notch program.
  The D.C. Choice Program would provide scholarships of up to $7,500 to 
eligible students to cover the cost of tuition, fees, and 
transportation expenses, if any. The scholarship would be considered 
assistance to the students and not the schools. In order to ensure 
accountability, an evaluation would be conducted that would consider 
the impact and academic achievement attained by the program.
  This legislation is the result of considerable negotiation and 
consultation with city officials, the Administration and the key 
committees of jurisdiction in Congress. And for the first time ever, 
the Mayor of the District of Columbia has come to the conclusion that 
``. . . if done effectively, this program would provide even more 
choices for primarily low income families who currently do not have the 
same freedom of choice enjoyed by their effluent counterparts.''
  I look forward to working with my colleagues on this important 
legislation.

                          ____________________