Tell Congress to Stop Funding Vouchers
Congress is now pushing the private “choice” agenda by extending the SOAR Reauthorization Act. Reauthorization would fund and expand, with your federal tax dollars, the District of Columbia’s private school voucher program.
It is time to shut this voucher program down. Send your email to your congressperson now by clicking here.
In 2012, the Washington Post investigated the program and found that hundreds of students used vouchers in unaccredited schools, or schools with questionable settings such as “a family-run K-12 school operating out of a storefront, a Nation of Islam school based in a converted Deanwood residence, and a school built around the philosophy of a Bulgarian psychotherapist.”
The program operates with little transparency or accountability. Congress refuses to add protections against discrimination based on disability and sexual orientation. And as we know from the proposed budget, every dollar the federal government spends on private school vouchers is less money available to invest in strengthening our public schools.
It is time to shut this voucher program down. Send your email to your representative now by clicking here.
This bill is moving fast and it is probable that a voice vote will take place this week.
Call your representative today, you can find his or her number here. If you do not know your representative’s name, you can find it here.
Below is a script to use when you call:
I am calling to ask Representative (name) to vote against HR 1387, the SOAR Reauthorization Act. I do not want my federal tax dollars used to pay for vouchers to private schools, especially those that are free to discriminate. I support public schools, and I am opposed to this bill and other efforts to privatize our schools. Our public schools, not voucher schools, deserve taxpayer support.