Education for All

A College Financial Aid Model for Private K-12 Students

One of President Bush’s education initiatives that would model private K-12 financing on a popular federal college financial aid program has sparked renewed debate about school vouchers and federal funding for private education.

Pell Grants for Kids, a proposed $300 million federal funding program for private K-12 education, would provide government-backed grants to low-income families to help them send their children to private, faith-based, or higher performing out-of-district public schools. The program’s philosophy is based on the notion that, like a college education, elementary and secondary education is best served when based on choice.

President Bush used his final State of the Union address at the end of January to call for congressional support of the Pell Grants for Kids initiative. The presidential behest drew immediate challenges from educators and politicians about the potential effectiveness of the program in the president’s push to privatize education. (more…)