This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Thursday, June 12, 2008.

I'm Caleb Brown.

School Choice in the District of Columbia

has met a better education for thousands of young people according to Cato Institute education policy analyst Adam Schaefer,

but now that program with just a few years under its belt might go away.

The DC voucher program, the Opportunity Scholarship Program

as it's known, sends about 2,000 children, 1,900 children

to private schools that they choose, funds them with federal dollars that take nothing from public schools and the

legislation expires after this year. It can continue to be funded by Congress, but with increasing Democratic majority in Congress,

potentially a Democratic president who said he's opposed to vouchers.

It looks increasingly unlikely that it will survive,

that they will continue to fund it.

Eleanor Holmes Norton, the DC delegate, recently talked about how we will transition from that program and move those kids back into DC schools which pretty much everyone knows are one of the

worst on average in the nation and one of the most expensive. They spend 24,000 dollars

per student. A lot of them are unsafe both in terms of the buildings and the

general environment there. So this is a real tragedy in the making. What is the

argument that she's making? in the I suppose it does, but they're leaving for a very good reason, which is a lot of them are not safe.

Most of them don't teach basic skills to the children.

And you know, parents are desperate for a choice and they exercise that choice unfortunately

only about 2,000 children are able to exercise that choice there's a huge demand that out trips the

supply so but the argument against it is that it undermines schools

which is just not the case. It doesn't take any money from the schools. It does

...