President Obama: School Choice Denier

Press Release

On Monday, the president gave what was billed as a speech about his education record at a high school in Washington, DC. One line in particular was striking: "For too many students in America," he said, "zip code still determines how far they'll go. And that's not acceptable."

It certainly isn't acceptable, which is why it so important that we promote the great diversity of schools in America, whether it's public schools, private schools, charter schools, magnet schools, online universities, or homeschooling.

A new law--the Every Student Succeeds Act--expands school choice, including support for high-quality charter schools. In the spring, the House passed legislation reauthorizing the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program. And our Better Way agenda calls for doing more to support state and local efforts to further expand school choice.

Indeed, school choice is a lifeline for students trapped by their zip code, yet it received no mention whatsoever during the president's speech. Not even a nod to it. Nothing.

Here was the president touting "real progress" in education, and he made no mention of charter schools--even when half of kids in DC are in charter schools, and more than 3 million students nationwide go to charter schools.

No mention of the groundbreaking DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP), either. The only program where the federal government allows families to choose the schools that best fit their kids' needs, OSP has helped thousands of DC students escape underperforming schools. Looking at last year's results, the program had a 95 percent graduation rate, and an 87 percent satisfaction rate among parents. Nearly 82 percent of placed students were African American or Hispanic.

Perhaps the president didn't bring up any of this because, if he had his way, the program wouldn't even exist anymore. The administration has repeatedly zeroed out funding for DC's school choice program, only to be foiled by a bipartisan coalition.

The president has always had it out for school choice, inside the Beltway and out. His administration sued to shut down Louisiana's school choice program, but the suit was thrown out. And there was the Justice Department's years-long investigation into a school choice program in Wisconsin.

School choice thrives despite all this for the very reason the president opposes it: It shifts power away from government and unelected bureaucrats, embracing local reform and empowering people on the front lines.

So now, with little to show for his quest to shut down school choice, President Obama has to settle for ignoring it. He has become, in effect, a school choice denier. And in doing so, he discounts the work of so many, year in and year out, who save kids from falling through the cracks and help get them a quality education.

Of course, school choice isn't just something we ought to talk about--it's something we should fight for and support every day.

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