SIMMONS: Romney on schools: Now we’re talking
Leave it to Mitt Romney, the nonconservative conservative running neck and neck with President Obama, to begin nudging Republicans and libertarians toward closing an ideological divide by proposing to grant federal vouchers to disabled and poor children and suggesting that school districts open their doors to children who don’t reside in certain ZIP codes.
His proposals take school choice to an entirely new - and much-welcomed - level of discourse.
The Romney plan instantly snatches education reform from the province of Team Obama and its moneyed supporters by placing education dollars precisely where they belong: in the hands of parents.
As you know, states and localities decide where children attend school similar to the way governments determine voting precincts: by address and ZIP code.
Mr. Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, would change those circumstances regarding neighborhood schooling by overhauling Title 1, which aids economically disadvantaged students, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which targets special-needs students.
He would simply redirect federal dollars so that they follow the student.
“As president, I will give the parents of every low-income and special-needs student the chance to choose where their child goes to school,”Mr. Romney said at a recent U.S. Chamber of Commerce event. “For the first time in history, federal education funds will be linked to a student so that parents can send their child to any public or charter school, or to a private school, where permitted. And I will make that choice meaningful by ensuring there are sufficient options to exercise it.
Read more at The Washington Times