School Choice Emerging as GOP Rallying Point in Midterms

Republican senators are slated to introduce legislation Tuesday that would give millions of low-income families federal dollars to send their children to schools of their choosing, including private, parochial, and charter institutions, The New York Times and The Washington Post report.

The proposal by Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander, a former U.S. education secretary, and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina comes as GOP leaders increasingly tout school choice as an election-year issue with potential to attract low-income voters and resonate with concerns about income inequality.

The bill would direct about $24-billion allocated to educate poor and disabled children into block grants to the states, which could use the money for scholarships or vouchers for those students to attend private or charter schools or public schools outside their neighborhoods. About a third of the states have already taken steps to channel taxpayer funds into vouchers and other school-choice programs.