Opportunity Scholarships Program Reauthorized

Some great news for students in Washington, DC:

"The fiscal year 2011 spending bill that Congress approved yesterday (April 14, 2011) and President Obama will sign into law today reauthorizes the program that allows low-income students in the District of Columbia to use federally funded scholarships to attend religious and independent schools.

The bipartisan budget plan includes the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results (SOAR) Act that the House approved as a stand-alone bill last month. Enactment of the legislation means that new students will be able to attend schools starting this fall using scholarships worth up to $8,000 in grades K-8 and up to $12,000 in grades 9-12. Priority will be given to students whose scholarships were rescinded when Congress closed the program to new students in 2009.

Inclusion of the SOAR Act in the compromise legislation came at the insistence of House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), a passionate and steadfast supporter of the program from the start. Its enactment offers a future full of hope for disadvantaged students, and perhaps not only in the nation's capital. An article in today's edition of The New York Times suggests that the legislation is helping to fuel the revival of school vouchers across the country."

Joe McTighe
Executive Director
Council for American Private Education