Washington, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury released proposed rules for a federal school choice program it is preparing to launch in January.
In response, Weadé James, senior director for K-12 Education Policy at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement:
These proposed rules strip educational decision-making power from states and transfer it to scholarship-granting organizations that pick and choose which students they serve, without being guided by knowledge of community needs. Under this new structure, these third-party organizations would get to distribute taxpayer dollars as they please, without governors or state agencies having a say in how the money is used to improve academic achievement or the authority to create safeguards that prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.
State leaders should refrain from participating in a program like this—one that undermines state educational authority.
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Mishka Espey at [email protected].