Some lawmakers object to “Pell Grants for Kids”

Democrats and some Republicans in Congress are objecting to a new program President Bush proposed in his State of the Union address as another attempt to secure federal funding for private school vouchers. The program, dubbed “Pell Grants for Kids,” would provide grants on a competitive basis to states, school districts, cities, and nonprofit organizations to create scholarship programs for low-income students in schools that have missed their achievement targets under the No Child Left Behind Act, and in high schools in which graduation rates are lower than 60%.

“We have seen how Pell Grants help low-income students realize their full potential,” Mr. Bush said, referring to the popular federal aid program for higher education. “Now let’s apply that same spirit to help liberate poor children trapped in failing public schools.”

Senator Edward M. Kennedy, D-MA, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, dismissed the president’s proposal last week. “Yet again, American families heard empty rhetoric about improving our schools. But the president didn’t commit the resources to expand educational opportunity,” Kennedy said in a statement. Read about the proposed voucher program in Education Week online.