Emanuel to Introduce "Pell Grants for Kids" Legislation

Bill to Provide $300 million for Program

CHICAGO, IL – On the heels of the presidential budget request for funding for a school voucher proposal, in the coming weeks, U.S. Representative Rahm Emanuel (IL-5) will introduce a bill which would authorize $300 million in new funding for children in Title-1 schools that are being restructured under No Child Left Behind due to low performance or high schools with significant drop-out rates. Under Emanuel’s "Pell Grants for Kids," children attending one of these schools could use the funding to attend a nearby charter school.

"When it comes to education, parents and students deserve to have a choice. Instead of taking money out of the public schools, we need to expand school choice options within public schools," said Emanuel. "Charter schools offer students and parents high quality, innovative public school education."

Under the President’s budget proposal, $300 million would go towards a school choice program that would provide funds for students in low-performing schools to switch to either out-of-district public schools or nearby private schools. Under the Emanuel school choice proposal, that funding would remain in the public school setting and go towards charter schools.

Charter schools are public schools that are open to all students, regardless of income, gender, race, or religion. They are independently designed and operated and committed to improving the academic achievement of every student. Today, approximately 1.2 million children in 40 states and Washington, D.C. attend one of 4,200 charter schools.

Because they are schools of choice, that are highly responsive to the needs of students and communities. Charter schools have become an extremely appealing alternative for families from all backgrounds. In fact, throughout their 17 year history, charter schools have stood at the center of our nation's growing effort to reform and improve public education and provide greater educational options to all families, especially low-income and minority families who have been underserved by the traditional system

"Increasing choice in education is always a positive step. Representative Emanuel’s legislation will afford numerous parents around the country an opportunity to actively choose a school for their children and benefit from high-quality public charter schools," said Nelson Smith, President of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

Charter schools have been very successful in the City of Chicago. There are 27 charter schools in the Chicago area, operating 47 campuses, with another 12 on the way next fall. In Chicago, charter school graduation rates totaled 89 percent in 2006. Charter schools are in high demand in the City of Chicago – thousands of students are on the waiting list. Under Emanuel’s bill, the "Pell Grants for Kids" Program, charter schools which choose to participate in the program will receive supplemental funding to help pay for the hiring of additional teachers, expanding a grade level, transportation, or paying for other implementation costs.