As Democrats talk about racial justice -- while refusing to even debate consensus-based police reform legislation -- the party's presumptive presidential nominee appears poised to placate teachers unions by stripping funding from the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program. This program -- started during the Bush administration, undermined and defunded during the Obama years, then reinstated by President Trump -- offers financial assistance to indigent families of color in order to allow them to afford private school tuition for their children. It's exceptionally popular among the parents whose children benefit from it, but it will likely be on the chopping block in a Biden administration, in the name of "progress":
The Biden-Sanders "Unity Task Force" calls to end the private school choice program in D.C.
— Corey A. DeAngelis (@DeAngelisCorey) July 9, 2020
83% of the children are Black
12% are Hispanic
Average household income: $26,440
Tough luck, poor families of color. There are political interests that supersede yours. DeAngelis, a school choice advocate, refutes some of the bogus reasons cited by the "unity task force," which is designed to make leftists feel included and represented as Biden's platform and governing priorities take shape:
They claim the program offers "no accountability"
— Corey A. DeAngelis (@DeAngelisCorey) July 9, 2020
But private schools are directly accountable to families.
Why would thousands of low-income families choose private schools if they were "unaccountable"??? pic.twitter.com/81V0Vm6Usv
Webber et al. (2019) found the program largely increased safety, satisfaction, & attendance.
— Corey A. DeAngelis (@DeAngelisCorey) July 9, 2020
The study found no effects on test scores.
BUT vouchers are only around $9,500 per student.
D.C. public schools spend over $31,000 per child.https://t.co/Rb19jTeCeX
The program has helped thousands of DC students since the 2004 school year. Imagine the hubris it takes for politicians to tell black and Hispanic families that their personal satisfaction with their children's educational opportunities doesn't matter and that their own assessments of "accountability" don't count. Imagine the dishonesty it takes to strip away these opportunities based on supposed failures that exclude higher graduation rates, better student safety and improved student attendance. School choice, which is a path out of poverty for many kids, is also under assault in California, where union interests are running roughshod over families, small businesses, and workers (Biden has specifically endorsed a particularly ruinous California law). Government employee unions are calling for the abolition of charter schools. It's all dressed up as progressivism, but it's about political power and the interests of adults, not educational success or freedom for children. And then there's this:
Hold up. You sent your own kids to private schools.
— Corey A. DeAngelis (@DeAngelisCorey) July 9, 2020
You attended private school.
So why do you oppose school choice for others??? https://t.co/ASmzbNEJy8
Talk about privilege, no? I'll leave you with Mark Levin's weekend interview with the great Thomas Sowell, whose new book is entitled, "Charter Schools and Their Enemies":
And POTUS tweeted about the Biden/Bernie alliance yesterday:
Has anybody seen or reviewed the written “pact” between Bernie Sanders & Sleepy Joe. It is further left than even Bernie had in mind. Open Borders, crime, really bad to cops and military - The guaranteed destruction of America. Joe never told us this. Never been so CLEAR!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 15, 2020