Over 32 percent of the members of the Congressional Black Caucus whose offices responded to the survey send their children to private schools. Despite the proportion of Members of Congress who send their own children to private schools, many Members still do not feel that all parents should be given this fundamental choice. Senator Coverdell's proposal passed the Senate by a vote of 59 to 41 but was dropped from the tax legislation after President Bill Clinton sent Congress a letter saying he would veto such a measure. Curiously, 60.9 percent of those who did not respond to the Heritage survey opposed this measure, as did 38.5 percent of those without school-age children and 34.4 percent of Members who send their own children to private schools. Yet congressional opponents of effective school choice for America's families are quite likely to send their own children to private school.
Parental involvement is one of the keys to a child's academic success.
By exercising academic choices and demanding accountability, all parents can become positively engaged in educating their children. Thus, as Members of Congress take their own children back to school and prepare to vote on school choice legislation this fall, they must determine whether they are more committed to America's children or to the education establishment and the status quo. Perhaps parents, as they watch these bills move through Congress, should compare their Senators' and Representatives' votes with the decisions their elected representatives have made for their own children's education. Endnotes 1 Claire Gabriel and Katie O'Scannlain, Research Department interns at The Heritage Foundation, contributed to this paper. The American Community Renewal Act, the District of Columbia Student Opportunity Scholarship Act, the Safe and Affordable Schools Act, and the Education Savings Accounts for Primary and Secondary School Expenses Act.