U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today issued the following statement regarding Senate passage of the D.C. school choice legislation:

"Today is a truly historic event in the drive to provide educational choices to the children of the District of Columbia. The Senate's passage of the school choice legislation means that now, many of city's low-income students will have the same educational opportunities as the district's more economically fortunate students.

"Being able to make choices is a bedrock of a democratic society. With school choice, whether under the transfer provisions of No Child Left Behind or opportunity scholarships in the district and elsewhere, all parents can exercise their right to make educational choices for their children. School choice is one policy that will help create an educational system that makes no distinction between the poor and the privileged in terms of the quality of education received.

"I am proud to be a part of this historic initiative with Mayor Williams and members of the district's City Council and school board. It shows the public that when the future of our children is at stake, education and political leaders are willing to form partnerships and cross party lines to create better educational opportunities for all. Education is not and should not be a partisan issue.

"I hope that the D.C. experiment will be a model for the nation, showing how opportunity scholarships can not only help the children who take advantage of them, but also will force the public schools themselves to improve as they compete for students. Recent evidence from other states with opportunity scholarships has proved the positive changes these programs can make.

"I want to thank members of the Senate, especially Sens. Judd Gregg and Mike DeWine, for their support of this initiative and their mutual concern for the educational needs of D.C.'s children. I also want to again thank Mayor Williams, Councilman Kevin Chavous and School Board President Peggy Cooper Cafritz for their persistence in seeing this initiative through. I know that we will all continue to work together to level the education playing field and work diligently to improve public education throughout the nation. I look forward to working with the mayor as a full partner in implementing and measuring the program."

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