AFT on President Trump’s Praise for DC Voucher Program

WASHINGTON—Statement by American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten on President Trump’s praise for the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, which received continuing, but not additional, funding under the spending agreement announced this week.

“Perhaps if President Trump spent a nanosecond in public schools, it would curb his very one-sided enthusiasm for voucher programs like the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, whose students, his own Education Department just concluded, have actually done worse than those who remained in public schools. As he spoke, millions of children in public schools across the nation, like the ones Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and I visited together two weeks ago in Van Wert, Ohio, and the inner-city schools in the city where he used to live, are getting a fantastic education.

“Parents and teachers want safe and welcoming environments for their kids, which is why parents in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere, even with poor academic results, choose vouchers. If the president really listened to the public, he wouldn’t slash public education budgets that go to ensuring kids have safe, strong learning environments with lower class sizes, after-school activities and enrichment opportunities, and other programs that actually help kids.”