This week, the pilot District of Columbia voucher program cleared another important barrier when it passed the House as part of a huge consolidated spending bill. Included are $13 million for the voucher program itself, $1 million for administrative expenses, and an additional $13 million for both D.C. public and charter schools. Children in D.C. have one more hurdle, the Senate, which won't drag itself back into session to pass the federal budget (now more than two months overdue) until late January. We are cautiously optimistic, however, since the Senate has also folded the program into its appropriations bill and Democrats have already conceded that they will not filibuster to stop the program from becoming law. And after it passes, the program is (likely) off to the courts. Stay tuned.
"House approves vouchers for D.C.," by Spencer S. Hsu, Washington Post, December 9, 2003
"House again approves D.C. vouchers, ban on human patents," BP Press, December 9, 2003
"Boehner applauds House passage of historic school choice initiative for District of Columbia," press release, Committee on Education and the Workforce, December 8, 2003