[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 28, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S516]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      NATIONAL SCHOOL CHOICE WEEK

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, in America, education is one of the 
keys to success--but too many Kentucky children are trapped in failing 
schools. This week is National School Choice Week, an ideal time to 
remember that school choice can be an important option for children 
living in poverty.
  Over 10,000 young Kentuckians a year drop out of school, with little 
likelihood to return and reduced prospects for the future. Dropping out 
before graduating high school very often subjects kids to added 
hardship. Studies by the U.S. Census Bureau show that the average high 
school dropout earns 42 percent less than a high school graduate 
without a college degree. And these failures of our school system fall 
hardest on minority and low-income children.
  But the big government-educational complex too often cares more about 
the bricks and mortar of a failing school than the children attending 
it. Special interests, like those of unions, can outweigh the interests 
of individual students.
  We need to provide increased opportunities for families to choose the 
education environment that best meets the needs of their children. 
School choice programs do just that--they empower parents.
  There are two types of school choice programs. One program provides 
financial assistance for disadvantaged students to enroll in private 
schools. The second charter schools--are public schools that are 
entrepreneurial and free from many of the constraints of school 
district bureaucracies. Rather than focusing on red tape, they are 
singularly focused on academic achievement, and give parents the 
opportunity to choose the best school for their child.
  Both types of programs offer families the opportunity to send their 
child to safer schools with a proven track record of success. They 
allow public education dollars to follow the student to the school of 
their parents' choosing and improve student performance. Surely 
parents, not bureaucrats, are the best judges of what school is right 
for their child.
  In Washington, DC, studies have shown that the city's private school 
scholarship program has increased graduation rates by 21 percent. In 
Indiana, enrollment in the State's private school scholarship program 
has more than doubled this year, to nearly 20,000 students. Clearly 
parents in Indiana are pleased with the availability of this option.
  Indiana charter school students also saw improvements in learning for 
math and reading compared to their traditional public school 
counterparts. If Indiana and Washington, DC, can offer their children 
better choices, why can't Kentucky do the same?
  A recent poll shows that 72 percent of Kentuckians favor charter 
schools, and yet Kentucky is one of only seven States that does not 
allow them. I agree with the vast majority of Kentuckians who favor 
charter schools and have supported Federal incentives for States that 
permit them, and will continue to do so.
  For these reasons, I am a proud sponsor of legislation in the Senate 
that would expand school choice and allow 11 million low-income 
students to take Federal funding to the public or private school they 
choose. This would give parents, not Washington or bloated school 
bureaucracies, the power to decide how to best use the education money 
allocated for their children. It would also ensure that students 
trapped in failing schools don't have to wait for those schools to get 
better to get a quality education.
  While I was encouraged to see Kentucky's ranking among States has 
improved, more is still needed. Last year, 18 of Kentucky's 22 failing 
schools were in Jefferson County. Students trapped in failing schools, 
such as those in the Louisville area, need options before they fall too 
far behind.
  School choice is a way out. For low-income families, it can break the 
cycle of poverty. Thanks to school choice, many young men and women who 
would otherwise not have had the opportunity to excel can grow up to 
become leaders in their communities and their country.
  The current one-size-fits-all education system is not the best 
approach. Our Commonwealth needs to make fundamental changes so that 
that every child has the opportunity to leave a failing school. I'm 
grateful for the organizations across the Bluegrass State which are 
fighting to make that happen. Kentucky's school children are capable of 
great things; let's make sure we empower their parents to help their 
children succeed.

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