Saturday, March 7, 2009

Student School Vouchers – Even the New US Education Secretary Gets It

In what probably come as a surprise to some, the new US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, said several days ago that he was not in favor of shutting down the Washington, DC voucher program.

Duncan is quoted as saying, "I don't think it makes sense to take kids out of a school where they're happy and safe and satisfied and learning," Duncan told said. "I think those kids need to stay in their school."

This puts Duncan at odds with Democrats in the Congress who want to kill the DC voucher program.

Meanwhile, Kentucky not only has no voucher program, but it doesn’t even have the much more popular charter school program (which is now found in 40 states). So, more than a few of our kids are trapped in public schools where they may not be happy, or safe, or satisfied or learning.

2 comments:

Cal said...

So you do differentiate between charter schools and vouchers?

Anonymous said...

In answer to Cal, we certainly do.

Charter schools are public schools which have received release from many restrictive regulations. Vouchers fund either attendance at private schools or at a public school in another district that charges out of district tuition.

These are different types of school choice options.