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September 5, 2003
Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations Hails
Landmark House Vote to
Give
D.C. Parents & Kids School Choice
Today, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of
America applauded the U.S. House of Representatives’ vote to approve a
school choice pilot program for the nation’s capital.
The pilot program proposal -- initiated by President Bush and endorsed by
Democratic leaders of D.C., Mayor Williams, City Councilman Chavous and
School Board President Cafritz – would provide millions of dollars in new
funding for K-12 education in the District, a portion of which would be
disbursed to low income families for tuition scholarships. The program is
designed to empower parents by awarding scholarships of up to $7500 to
those who qualify and desire to remove their child from a failing school.
Nathan Diament, the Union’s director of public policy issued the following
statement in connection with tomorrow’s House action:
The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations has
long been a supporter of school choice initiatives for they are in
keeping with the fundamental Jewish teaching that parents are primarily
responsible for the education of their children. We applaud the members
of the U.S. House of Representatives who have made the interests of
parents and children as the key factor for education policy decisions.
We applaud the leadership of President Bush who is clearly determined to
improve the educational opportunities for all America’s children and we
applaud Mayor Williams and other D.C. officials for their courageous
leadership on this issue as well.
We call upon the United States Senate to quickly enact this measure as
well and deliver new hope and empowerment to schoolchildren and their
parents in the nation’s capital.
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