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STATEMENT OF SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY ON REPORT BY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


WASHINGTON, D.C— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Senate Health,Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement in response to theDepartment of Education’s report “Evaluation of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program:Impacts After One Year.” “America’s competitiveness in today’s rapidly shrinking world hinges on our ability to ensureaccess to the highest quality education for all our children. The study released today by theDepartment of Education once again demonstrates that vouchers are not the answer –students who were offered vouchers showed no improvement over their peers in the DC publicschools. Five years of chronic under-funding of our commitments made in the No Child LeftBehind Act have left public schools struggling to implement essential school reforms. Thisstudy, along with a national study released by the Department of Education last summershowing that private schools do no better in educating our children than private schools,underscore that it is outrageous to divert scarce federal public education dollars to pay forvouchers to private schools. We should be supporting our public schools, not harming them.” ###