Relief Plans Spurring Debate Over Vouchers
Washington is a safe distance from the powerful winds that have been wreaking havoc on the Gulf Coast, but a political storm continued to brew in the capital last week over President Bush’s plan to help pay the costs of private school tuition for students displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
As voucher opponents decried the president’s plan, Louisiana’s two U.S. senators stepped forward late last week with an alternative proposal that would sidestep the voucher issue by providing direct aid to both public and private schools, religious or secular. The wide-ranging Katrina-relief package would provide $4,000 to public and private schools for each displaced student they take in, as well as other educational aid.
“The senator does not believe in vouchers,” said Brian Richardson, a spokesman for U.S. Sen. Mary L. Landrieu, a Democrat, who sponsored the package with Sen. David Vitter, a Republican....
This article is available to subscribers only.
To keep reading this article and more, subscribe now or start a 2-week FREE trial.
Subscribe to Education Week
You Save 20% or More!
Viewed
Emailed
Recommended
Commented
Sponsored Whitepapers
• Best Practices in Information Management, Reporting and Analytics for Education
• Smart infrastructure report to get your district ready for future IT needs.
• Integrating Social and Emotional RTI to Improve Student Performance
• Taming the wild west: How America’s third largest school district manages PCs, Macs, and iPads
• Overcoming the Odds: Getting Every Student to College YES Prep Shares Its Success Story
- Charter School Director (Head of School)
- International Preparatory Academy, Detroit, MI
- Principal
- Roaring Fork School District, Carbondale, CO
- Principal
- Chattahoochee Hills Charter School, Multiple Locations
- Principal
- Amargosa Valley Elementary School, Amargosa Valley, NV
- Superintendent
- Round Rock ISD, Round Rock, TX