Last week, Florida’s U.S. senators–Republicans Marco Rubio and Rick Scott–threw their support behind U.S. Sen. Tim Scott’s, R-SC, “Raising Expectations with Child Opportunity Vouchers for Educational Recovery (RECOVER) Act,” which will “empower parents to solve the learning loss crisis facing today’s students.”
Tim Scott’s office noted the bill would let states and school districts use unspent money from the $1.9 trillion stimulus plan backed by the Biden administration to create “Child Opportunity Scholarships directly to parents.” The South Carolina senator’s office added that 93 percent of the funds included in the stimulus package remain unspent.
“States and school districts have only spent a fraction of the education funds they received through the Democrats’ American Rescue Plan — leaving kids helpless as they struggle to recover from academic setbacks,” said Tim Scott. “It’s clear that big-government bailouts won’t solve our education crisis. That’s why the RECOVER Act allows those funds to flow to a much better steward: parents. I urge all of my colleagues to join me on this bill that would empower parents to help their kids thrive once again.”
The Florida senators are among the dozen co-sponsors in the Senate.
“Low-income students should not have to suffer because Democrats kept schools closed far longer than when the CDC gave the green light for them to reopen. This bill would enable parents to help their children catch up on what they missed out on rather than relying solely on union-run school systems,” Rubio said.
The bill was sent to the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
Over in the U.S. House, U.S. Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, is championing the proposal.
“As pandemic learning loss continues to crush the academic progress of millions of students across the country, only 7 percent of the so-called solution – $122 billion in American Rescue Plan funding – has been spent,” said Owens. “Not only is our nation falling behind as a leader in education, but our one-size-fits-all system is leaving our most vulnerable kids behind and pushing parents out of the driver’s seat. I am proud to introduce the RECOVER Act with Senator Scott to bring parents off the sidelines of their kid’s education by allowing states to reallocate billions in unspent dollars so that low-income students can receive the targeted support they need to reach their God-given potential.”
With Democrats in charge of both chambers of Capitol Hill, the bill is not expected to gain much momentum.
