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Public Funds Public Schools 8/21/25 Public Funds Public Schools 8/21/25

States Must Reject Harmful Voucher Program

The federal voucher program contained in the budget reconciliation bill passed in early July will divert federal tax dollars from the U.S. Treasury and from services, including public education, that Americans rely on, to give to private and religious schools that pick and choose whom they educate and openly discriminate against some students and families.

Jessica Alcantara and Laura Petty 8/21/25 Jessica Alcantara and Laura Petty 8/21/25

Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Will Devastate Public Schools. America’s Kids Will Pay the Price

This week, Republican lawmakers are attempting to pass a budget reconciliation bill that pays for unprecedented handouts to the wealthiest Americans on the backs of cuts to programs that benefit most people. Hidden in this budget package before the House is a national private school voucher program funded through tax breaks for the wealthy that threatens to dismantle our system of public schools.

Bella DiMarco 8/21/25 Bella DiMarco 8/21/25

Directional Signals: A New Analysis of the Evolving Private School Choice Landscape

Three years ago, Arizona became the first state to allow all students—regardless of income or need—to use public dollars for private school tuition and other educational expenses. The move marked a sweeping shift in the scale and scope of school choice in the United States.

Garry Rayno 8/21/25 Garry Rayno 8/21/25

Distant Dome: Education Freedom Account Expansion Will Be Costly

The parents of the 11,000 students who applied for grants from the newly opened vault in the state treasury are not the ones advocates tout as the beneficiary of the Education Freedom Account program if New Hampshire resembles other state’s experiences when they transitioned to “universal vouchers.”

Senator Mazie Hirono 8/21/25 Senator Mazie Hirono 8/21/25

Scamming Our Schools: Robbing Our Students’ Futures to Line Their Pockets

Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) led a spotlight forum focused on the harmful consequences the Republicans’ “Big Beautiful Bill” will have on students, parents, teachers, and schools across the country. Specifically, the forum highlights the school voucher-related provisions from the bill, which would divert billions of dollars in taxpayer funding to create the first ever national school voucher program.

May Roberts at Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy 8/21/25 May Roberts at Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy 8/21/25

What You Need to Know About the National Private School Voucher Proposal

School vouchers allow families to use public funds to pay for their children’s private school tuition. School voucher programs enacted across the country – using tax credits, grants, and savings accounts to divert public funding to pay for private education – have consistently demonstrated that states with voucher programs tend to expand the programs over time. These expansions dramatically increase the amount of public funds diverted to private education while state investments in public education remain stagnant or decrease. Despite the numerous negative consequences of using publicly funded vouchers to pay for K-12 private education expenses,1 policy makers across the country continue to propose similar programs.

American Federation for Teachers and the National Coalition for Public Education 8/21/25 American Federation for Teachers and the National Coalition for Public Education 8/21/25

Parents and Allies Oppose National Private School Voucher Program

Policymakers join parents, students, educators and allies to discuss how the national private school voucher program in the budget reconciliation bill would shift resources from public schools to wealthy people and private schools.

Jeff Bryant 8/21/25 Jeff Bryant 8/21/25

Trump and Republicans Want Taxpayers to Fund Their Pet Project: Private Schools

When is a “school choice” proposal not really about school choice? In the budget bill that Republicans rushed through the House on May 12, 2025, school choice is just a cover-up for tax relief for the rich.

Joshua Cowen 8/21/25 Joshua Cowen 8/21/25

Voucher Take-up Rates

This document lists articles from different states on the percentages of voucher students who never attended public school or were already in private school.

Emily Walkenhorst and Destinee Patterson, WRAL reporters 8/21/25 Emily Walkenhorst and Destinee Patterson, WRAL reporters 8/21/25

Most new voucher recipients didn't come from an NC public school, new data shows

Most of North Carolina's publicly funded general private school tuition vouchers this year went to students who were not enrolled in a North Carolina public school the year before, a new state report shows.

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction found 6,710 recipients of the voucher, called an Opportunity Scholarship, this year attended a public school in the state last year.

Steven Cook, Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent 8/21/25 Steven Cook, Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent 8/21/25

Column: Don’t let federal tax credits drain Bend-La Pine’s public schools

In the “big, beautiful bill” federal lawmakers have tucked in a proposal that threatens the very heart of public education, not only across the country, but right here in Central Oregon. The Educational Choice for Children Act creates a backdoor voucher scheme across all states, enabling billions of taxpayer dollars to be funneled away from public schools and into private institutions that operate without oversight, transparency or public accountability.

Wisconsin Public Education Network 8/21/25 Wisconsin Public Education Network 8/21/25

140 Organizations Tell Congress Say No to Vouchers!

Graphic on organizations opposing the federal voucher legislation.

Advancement Project 8/21/25 Advancement Project 8/21/25

Advancement Project National Private School Voucher Program Opposition Letter May 30 2025

On behalf of Advancement Project and 139 national, state, and grassroots racial justice, education justice, and other civil rights organizations, we write urging you to oppose any effort to authorize or create a national private school voucher program.

American Federation of Teachers 8/21/25 American Federation of Teachers 8/21/25

Trump's Budget Bill Funnels More Money to Billionaires and Wealthy Private Schools

Trump's "big, beautiful bill" hides a massive tax loophole for billionaires that would practically pay them for "donating" money to pay for private school tuition of parents that may earn up to $500,000 per year - both increasing the deficit and weakening public schools. Tell your lawmaker to say NO to school vouchers.

Hilary Wething 7/22/25 Hilary Wething 7/22/25

The five-alarm fire that public education is facing

All children deserve to attend welcoming and well-funded schools where they can learn and grow, regardless of race, disability, or income. But funding for public schools, where nearly 90% of all U.S. students learn, is at a near crisis point. The Trump administration’s goals, which are taken right out of Project 2025, seem to be to defund public education to the point that it doesn’t work, then offer private school vouchers as a solution to a manufactured problem. In this post, we highlight five ways public education is on fire in the United States and the damage this will do to students’ abilities to learn and thrive. Instead of cutting funds, lawmakers should invest in public schools, one of the best tools we still have to build a prosperous, equitable country.

Honesty for Ohio Education 7/22/25 Honesty for Ohio Education 7/22/25

Public Funds Belong in Public Schools

High-quality public schools are a common good that serve as the bedrock of a high-functioning, multiracial democracy. Yet across Ohio, lawmakers are prioritizing the interests of wealthy donors over the needs of the 10.6 million students who attend public school. Public Funds Belong in Public Schools is a toolkit created for everyday Ohioans who want to stand up for public education and push back against the expansion of private school vouchers.

National Coalition for Public Education 7/22/25 National Coalition for Public Education 7/22/25

National Coalition for Public Education Denounces Inclusion of National Private School VoucherProgram in Republican Tax Bill

Today, the House Ways & Means Committee introduced a $20 billion national school voucher program in their “mega bill.” If this bill becomes law, vouchers for private schools would be federally mandated in every state in America, despite the fact these programs have been rejected at the state level each time they’ve been on the ballot – a total of seventeen times.

Advancement Project 7/22/25 Advancement Project 7/22/25

Advancement Project Letter Opposing HR-833

On behalf of Advancement Project and 93 national, state, and grassroots racial justice, education justice, and other civil rights organizations, we write in opposition to H.R. 833 and S. 292, the Educational Choice for Children Act (“ECCA”), which would create a nationwide private school voucher program in the form of a 100% tax break for the wealthy.

Erica Meltzer 7/22/25 Erica Meltzer 7/22/25

Congress usually snubs private school choice expansion. Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ embraces it.

A big Republican budget bill in Congress would establish a nationwide, federal school choice program — a potential political breakthrough that conservative lawmakers and advocates have discussed for years but which has consistently stalled.

Kevin Hardy 7/22/25 Kevin Hardy 7/22/25

Rapidly expanding school voucher programs pinch state budgets

Characterizing vouchers as an “entitlement program,” Hobbs said the state could spend more than $1 billion subsidizing private education in the upcoming fiscal year. The Democratic governor said those expenses could crowd out other budget priorities, including disability programs and pay raises for firefighters and state troopers.

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