Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Reauthorization Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. ROKITA. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman for his leadership in
bringing this excellent bill to the floor. This bill--of which, in full
disclosure, I am an original cosponsor of--will continue to promote
school choice and provide Opportunity scholarships to D.C. students
that are most in need, while also expanding D.C. Public Charter
Schools, therefore providing more opportunities for Washington students
to excel and set themselves up for productive and successful lives.

Now, to date, the Opportunity Scholarship Program has been an
educational lifeline for more than 6,000 children from very low-income
D.C. families, and more than 16,000 have applied to participate since
the 2004-05 school year. Quite simply put, this program works.

It is no secret I am a big proponent of school choice. As chairman of
the Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee,
I have heard about the challenges many students in schools are facing,
and I firmly believe that when parents have a choice, kids have a
chance. This program, which has helped pave the way for others like it
across the country, gives that chance, and it creates a healthy
competition that causes all schools to improve, therefore helping all
students, even those who aren't in the program.

As I have seen in my home State of Indiana and across this great
country touring schools and visiting classrooms, Opportunity
scholarships provide students a hand up in improving their lives, their
family's lives, and their communities. That is why we have a moral
obligation to pass this legislation and why I urge my colleagues to
join me and join the others here on the floor in reauthorizing the D.C.
Opportunity Scholarship Program.

Mr. Chairman, a great education is a great equalizer. It opens doors
to unlimited possibilities and provides students the tools that they
need to succeed in life.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source