Institute for Justice Applauds Successful Launch Of D.C. School Choice Program
WEB RELEASE: September 1, 2004
CONTACT: Lisa Knepper (703) 682-9320
[School Choice]
Washington, D.C.—The Institute for Justice today praised the successful placement of more than 1,000 low-income District of Columbia children in 53 private schools by the Washington Scholarship Fund, the non-profit organization managing the District’s new school choice program. The Institute for Justice is the nation’s leading legal school choice advocacy organization.
“Securing a better education for more than 1,000 disadvantaged children in just five months is an incredible accomplishment—and certainly one of the most impressive launches ever for a new school choice program,” said IJ Senior Litigation Attorney Richard Komer. “With the start of this school year, the equivalent of two elementary schools full of D.C. children are enjoying educational opportunities they couldn’t dream of just one year ago.”
The D.C. choice program is the nation’s newest voucher program, joining Milwaukee, Cleveland and Florida in offering expanded educational opportunities to more than 32,000 families. For information on these and other school choice programs, visit IJ’s School Choice Information Center at www.ij.org/schoolchoice.
“With about half of D.C. students in public schools that are ‘in need of improvement,’ and few public school transfer options available, school choice is needed more than ever in the nation’s capital,” added Komer. The D.C. school choice program gives priority to students in public schools identified as “in need of improvement” under federal guidelines. Komer concluded, “Parent demand for school choice in the nation’s capital will only grow stronger—just as it has with every other choice program.”