The voucher program in the nation's capital, though small, holds outsize symbolic importance, in part because it's the only private school choice program directly overseen by Congress. While its future looked uncertain after it wasn't renewed late last year, it seems to have picked up new momentum.
This week, in a letter to congressional leaders, Mayor Muriel Bowser and eight members of Washington's city council said they support the "three-sector" approach of the SOAR Act, federal legislation that links funding for the district's charter and traditional public schools with the re-authorization of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.
In the letter, released by House Speaker Paul Ryan's office, the city officials wrote:
The SOAR Act provides equal amounts of federal funding for the [District of Columbia Public Schools], public charter schools and the [voucher program]. We understand that these funding streams are inextricably linked. We urge you to ensure that the SOAR Reauthorization Act (S. 2171/H.R. 10) becomes law before the end of this Congress so that this critical funding for K -12 education in the District of Columbia is not put in jeopardy.
