Introduction

Thank you, Nina Rees, and welcome. I am so pleased to see all of you here today. I want to thank Nina and all of those involved in arranging this exchange series. I am honored to join Dr. Paul Hill, Dr. Howard Fuller, Ms. Virginia Walden-Ford, and Dr. T.J. Wallace to discuss opportunity scholarships and the D.C. Choice legislation. And I thank the members of the audience for their interest and attendance.

This exchange is very important to the work of this Department. The presentations today will offer the candid insight and informed wisdom necessary to help make D.C. Choice successful. The brain trust assembled here is a profound and powerful source of knowledge. Their voices have been at the forefront of the national discussion on opportunity scholarships. If I may use a phrase from my coaching days, these are the "marquee" players, the "dream team" for opportunity scholarships.

D.C. Choice

We need to listen to their counsel and learn from their experience. All eyes are on the nation's capital. One month and two days ago, Congress passed the 2004 budget (Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2004). Included was a plan to introduce opportunity scholarships in the District of Columbia. The $14 million effort is known as the "D.C. Choice Incentive Program."

Passage of D.C. Choice is a defining moment in American education, a milestone achievement. It is recognition that monopolistic practices are not appropriate for many educational settings. It is a statement that students must not be chained to broken schools and unsatisfactory learning environments. It is a concession that opportunity scholarships may be the vehicle to best correct certain deficiencies in our elementary and secondary educational systems. And it is a hopeful step into the future, casting aside doubt and indecision to boldly adopt a new, progressive program for educational reform.

Specifically, as part of a larger appropriation to D.C. schools, D.C. Choice is a five-year, federally funded program to provide close to 2,000 low-income students in the District with grants of up to $7,500 each to attend the school of their choice, be it private or parochial. While there are opportunity scholarship programs already in states such as Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Colorado, D.C.'s program is the first that would be federally funded. It is also the first that would be overseen by the United States Department of Education in partnership with the District of Columbia.

As you know, Mayor Williams and I will jointly run the program. We have already signed a Memorandum of Understanding to that effect. The agreement outlines the selection mechanism for the independent body that will actually award the opportunity scholarships. We have already invited applications through a notice in the Federal Register. The notice sets out the funding criteria, priorities, and procedures for selection, consistent with the congressional legislation. Applications are due March 5th, and we hope to make an award by the end of the month.

This partnership will be positive, candid, open, and constructive. It will also be a groundbreaking effort, leading to greater understanding of the needs of the students in the District and allowing for more effective programs to meet those needs. D.C. Choice allows low-income students a chance at a quality education that is inclusive, fair, and equitable. It replaces rigid requirements that deny choice with real alternatives. Politics and bureaucracy will no longer conspire to force students to stay in schools that are broken. Students who are under-educated no longer have to waste their time and youth in a school that does not work. Rather, with choice, participating students receive the education, freedom, respect, and regard they deserve. Parents receive fulfillment of the government's promise to educate. Taxpayers receive a better return for their investment.

I realize that we are entering uncharted territory. But if goodwill, honesty, and concern for the students guide us, we will construct a profoundly positive working arrangement. That is why I wanted to convene this panel of experts. You can help us form a realistic vision for this effort and show us how to capably administer this program. Your experience is an invaluable asset to us.

We want D.C. Choice to be a model program for the nation. Of course, by themselves, opportunity scholarships will not solve every problem facing D.C. schools. The scholarships must be part of a larger set of reforms and adjustments. But this program will be in the spotlight. When we show it can work here, in this particular set of circumstances, opportunity scholarships may be considered a more viable and attractive option for other school districts.

Opportunity Scholarships Work

There is considerable evidence that opportunity scholarships can make a positive difference. For example, there are reports showing that most of the students who received opportunity scholarships in Florida have progressed more than one grade level on a standardized test for each of the four years they have been in the program. The benefits extend well beyond the students with opportunity scholarships. In Florida, as well as in Milwaukee and Cleveland, competition has raised the performance of the public schools themselves. In other words, competition changed the educational environment.

There are critics of this effort, and some who have vowed to oppose our work. The language has been strident and passionate. The words have been stark and tough. We cannot look for much support from those who have vowed to ensure failure.

Unfortunately, the critics don't offer up much in the way of alternatives. They ask for more money. They ask us to keep children in underperforming schools. They ask for more governmental intervention, more programs, more resources, more teachers, more and more and more. We have tried all of that and more for decades, with terrible results. The time has come for fundamental changes in attitude, structure, and environment. It is time for more resources coupled with more alternatives.

Look to the Future

I indicated earlier that all eyes would be on D.C. Choice for the next five years. I welcome the scrutiny, but remind you that this is just one school district. I am hopeful the panel will also discuss the broader need for opportunity scholarships elsewhere. The urgent need for educational reform exists in every school district. This is just the beginning. We can't just sit and wait five years to see what happens here. Rather, each school district must assess its needs and find the best solutions for each individual situation. I look forward to your assessment of the usefulness of opportunity scholarships in other school districts.

We are prepared to help other school districts explore the potential of opportunity scholarships. The President's 2005 budget includes an estimated $50 million for a "Choice Incentive Fund." The fund is designed to ensure that parents have more choices for their children. The Fund will provide competitive awards to states, school districts and community-based nonprofit organizations with a proven record of securing educational opportunities for children.

Conclusion

In my view, opportunity scholarships provide a workable, hopeful alternative to open private schools to low-income and minority students. For each of these students, this is educational emancipation. Opportunity scholarships can be the road to quality education and all that it means - personal growth, economic success, and a greater range of employment alternatives. For the students in the District who get these scholarships, they have been handed the chance to overcome circumstance and situation. And by giving them this chance, one ripple effect may be improvement of the entire school district.

Our task now is to make D.C. Choice work. It will require our best efforts, bipartisan cooperation, and support within and outside the nation's capital. I believe Mayor Williams and I are prepared to do everything possible to make this program a success.

We know what is at stake: the lives and the futures of children, who want to read, learn, study, grow, and live. We want every child to get the most out of his or her educational opportunity, because of the value of an individual's education and then the contributions made by all of our students when they grow and mature. A good, wise, just, and compassionate country makes certain that educational opportunities are available for all of its citizens - every single one of them.

Thank you.

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