D.C. Voucher Program Under Scrutiny, Congress Wants More Accountability

Advocates are pushing for Congress to reauthorize the D.C. voucher program, which allows children to use public dollars to attend private schools. But some Senators say there are too many unanswered questions about the current program.

Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL.) says the head of the D.C. voucher program declined to give him basic information such as the number of students enrolled in each school. So he had his staff track down data. Durbin also says he's disturbed by the lack of academic information available about some of the schools.

Even senators such as Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), who's in favor of the program, say there needs to be more accountability.

At a Senate hearing, Durbin's staff showed photographs of several schools that have received vouchers, some of which looked like store fronts.

Gregory Cork, CEO of the Washington Scholarship Fund, says he will account for every dollar of federal funding and make sure every building is up to code. But as for what the buildings look like he says what a school looks like "isn't an indication of the quality of education it provides."

The voucher program is expected to expire this year.

Kavitha Cardoza reports...