Statement by Edward J. McElroy,
President, American Federation of Teachers,
On the Senate's Effort To Provide Hurricane Relief Aid for Students and Schools 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Kennedy-Enzi amendment, passed by the Senate today, attempts to provide necessary aid for students and schools affected by the hurricanes.  However, the AFT has serious concerns about the precedent-setting potential of the amendment's mechanism for delivering aid to private school students. 

Because the AFT's first priority is getting aid to affected students, we have proposed that Congress use a mechanism that already exists, under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, to provide services to private school students.  This option is the most efficient way to provide services to these students and would avoid an unnecessary ideological battle over vouchers that could further delay the relief desperately needed by students and schools along the Gulf Coast.

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