Federal Aid Goes to Public, Private Schools Hit By Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

The long-awaited federal aid for schools damaged by hurricanes Katrina and Rita and for those that took in thousands of students displaced by the devastating storms is finally on the way.

In a rush to complete key votes before the holidays, the Senate on Wednesday night voted 93-to-0 to pass a defense spending bill that included $1.6 billion in hurricane-related aid for public and private schools. The House approved the measure Thursday by unanimous consent.

But the one-year spending measure prompted an outcry among some education groups—even those who have been clamoring for aid to the Gulf Coast—because of its controversial measures for channeling federal aid to private schools affected by the hurricanes as well as to public schools. While some of those procedures for paying out money to private and parochial schools had been included in earlier legislation and discussed, other aspects of the aid...