In remarks during a press conference yesterday, Senator Jim DeMint declared that, “if you send a kid to [public] school in D.C., chances are that they will end up in a gang rather than graduating.” People For the American Way President Kathryn Kolbert issued the following statement:

“Senator DeMint’s statement yesterday is offensive to the parents and students of the District of Columbia. If the Senator could take a break from treating the DC Public School System like a political football, he’d see that it’s made up of families and educators who are working hard to provide the best possible education to their children. Instead he’s chosen to ignore the facts and push a dangerous misrepresentation of the system in order to further his own shortsighted ideological agenda. He should apologize to the parents and students of DC.”

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