Four state lawmakers to file legislation to increase charters, opportunity scholarships
As Chicago Teachers Union members strike, hundreds of thousands of Chicago kids are on the street.
ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE
MEDIA ALERT – Illinois State Lawmakers Respond to CTU Strike, Lead on School Choice
MEDIA CONTACT: Elizabeth Van Holt
elizabeth@isaiahconsult.com or (765)532-6607
To schedule interviews with Sen. McCarter, Sen. Sandack, Rep. Morrison and Rep. Sosnowski, please contact Elizabeth Van Holt.
In Response to CTU Strike, Four State Lawmakers to File Legislation to Increase Charter Schools and Make Opportunity Scholarships Available
CHICAGO (Sept. 13, 2012) – As Chicago Teachers Union members strike, hundreds of thousands of Chicago kids are on the street. They deserve better. Now is the time to empower parents so they have more and better choices on what constitutes a high-quality education for their kids.
Key facts:
- Four out of ten kids who start freshman year at a public high school in Chicago do not graduate.
- Chicago receives almost $2 billion from state tax funds. The entire state, not just Chicago, is paying for the failures of CPS and CTU.
- 19,000 students who applied for admittance into Chicago charters were turned away due to lack of space, according to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Senator Kyle McCarter (R-Lebanon), Senator Ron Sandack (R-Downers Grove), Representative Tom Morrison (R-Palatine) and Representative Joe Sosnowski (R-Belvidere) stand with the Illinois Policy Institute and call for the creation of opportunity scholarships (also referred to as vouchers) and the removal of caps on the number of Illinois charter schools.
“There is no better time than now to provide opportunities to children in Chicago by ensuring that they have an excellent education. Vouchers and charter schools are the opportunities that we can provide today to better their education. In the midst of a Chicago Teachers Union strike, hundreds of thousands of children are being displaced amongst their peers, while those in charter and private schools are advancing daily in their educations,” said Senator Kyle McCarter (R-Lebanon).
Senator Ron Sandack (R-Downers Grove) noted, “The way to improve performance in our public schools is through market-based solutions which expand choices for parents, improving education opportunities for all children while having the added benefit of increasing parental involvement in their children’s education. All children should receive a quality education regardless of the income level of the school district. We can accomplish this by eliminating the cap on charter schools that meet accountability standards. Another important aspect of this solution is in providing parents tuition vouchers, which empowers them by allowing them to ‘vote with their feet’, while incentivizing teachers to constantly strive to improve.”
Representative Tom Morrison (R-Palatine) stated, “Being a parent, legislator and former teacher, I see the need for a strong educational system for our children. Giving parents the ability to choose the best education for their children should be foremost. I support opportunity scholarships in Illinois along with removing the cap on charter schools, and I strongly urge my colleagues to do the same. While the CTU and other suburban teacher strikes are currently depriving an education from hundreds of thousands of children, over 30,000 charter school students are learning today and becoming the leaders of tomorrow.”
Representative Joe Sosnowski (R-Belvidere) stated, “If Chicago teachers’ true concern was educating children then they would still be in the classrooms, not in the picket lines. CTU’s decision to fight for huge raises is indicative of them being out of touch with what average Americans are dealing with in these tough economic times. This current situation highlights why we need to empower parents to choose an education for their children, whether that be public, charter or private schools.”