D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program

The D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program provides scholarships to low-income children in Washington D.C. for tuition and other fees at participating private schools. The program was the first Federally funded school voucher program in the United States. It was first approved in 2003 and allowed to expire in 2009. The program was reauthorized under the SOAR Act in 2011.

In 2004, President George W. Bush signed the D.C. School Choice Incentive Act of 2003, creating the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program to provide scholarships to students from low-income families to attend a private school of choice. The program targeted 2,000 children from low-income families in Washington D.C. These children were given funding to help offset the cost of private schooling. In 2008, the program funded attendance at 54 D.C. private schools for students from families with an average income of $22,736, "or about 107 percent of the federal poverty level for a family of four."

In 2009 the program faced a phase out with President Barack Obama’s 2009 budget proposal cutting all funding for the program and including language to prohibit any new students from receiving scholarships.

In 2011, Speaker of the House John Boehner and Senator Joe Lieberman introduced the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results (SOAR) Act to restore funding for the program and again allow new students to participate. The entirety of the SOAR Act was included in the 2011 long-term continuing resolution, the passage of which resulted in a five-year reauthorization of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. The 2004 legislation had permitted students to receive scholarships of up to $7,500, whereas the 2011 bill provides scholarships of up to $8,000 for students in kindergarten through eighth grade and up to $12,000 for students in grades 9-12.

In February 2012, President Barack Obama announced his budget proposal for 2013, which did not include new funding for the program. According to ABC News, the budget stated that the program's budget for 2012 had enough money to also cover students' vouchers in 2013, but did not mention future years. The lack of funding was criticized by conservatives, including The Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal columnist Jason L. Riley, who argued that the program costs less per child and has a higher graduation rate than public schools in Washington D.C.

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