White House, D.C. school voucher programs strike deal

Congressional supporters of D.C.’s private school vouchers reported on Monday that they landed a deal with President Barack Obama’s administration to keep money and students flowing into the controversial program. Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senator Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., the authors of the legislation that reauthorized and expanded the Opportunity Scholarship Program, reported they reached an agreement with the White House to guarantee there would be no cap on enrollment in the program and that parents can apply to have their children stay in or join the program and receive a response as soon as possible.

“I’m pleased that an agreement has been reached to expand the program, consistent with the law already on the books,” Boehner said, commending the scholarships as “both effective and cost-effective.” President Obama agreed to sign Boehner and Lieberman’s legislation in April 2011 as part of a broader budget deal, albeit many Democrats opposed the scholarship program. On Monday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said, “The President and I are committed to ensuring that the education of the children currently in the DC Opportunity Scholarship program is not disrupted. Beyond that commitment, however, we remain convinced that our time and resources are best spent on reforming the public school system to benefit all Students and we look forward to working with Congress in a bipartisan manner to advance that goal.”