Catholic educators told school choice is becoming less partisan issue

Published: 2007-03-13

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- "School choice is becoming less and less a partisan issue," Morgan Brown, an assistant deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, told a group of Catholic education leaders gathered in Washington for congressional advocacy days. The Bush administration "is the most pro-school-choice administration we've ever had at the federal level," said Brown, who heads the Education Department's Office of Innovation and Improvement. About 70 educators from more than 20 states came to Washington March 11-13 to discuss current federal legislative issues that may affect Catholic education and to lobby members of Congress on behalf of measures that would provide more equal participation of private school students and teachers in federal programs. "Much of the real action on school choice is in the states," Brown acknowledged. But he said the federal government can "create incentives" for states to improve school choice possibilities by providing "seed money" in the way of programs that include participation by those in private schools. The federal government can also serve as a "bully pulpit" to make the case to the American public that parents should have a choice in what schools their children attend, he said.

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