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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.

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.

Jackie Huff 8/21/25 Jackie Huff 8/21/25

Voucher programs threaten the promise of public education

Today, we face a troubling trend. The push for voucher programs that redirect public funds to private schools threatens to abandon the fundamental promise of public education. While these programs sound appealing on the surface, they risk dismantling the very foundation that makes American education a beacon of opportunity for all.

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.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union, Education Law Center, and Freedom From Religion Foundation 7/22/25 Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union, Education Law Center, and Freedom From Religion Foundation 7/22/25

Statement on Supreme Court Agreeing to Hear Oklahoma Case Involving Nation’s First Religious Public Charter School

Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union, Education Law Center, and Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following statement concerning the petitions for certiorari granted today by the U.S. Supreme Court in Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board v. Drummond and St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School v. Drummond. The organizations represent faith leaders, public school parents, and public education advocates in a separate lawsuit to stop Oklahoma from sponsoring and funding St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School.

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.

Policy Matters Ohio 7/22/25 Policy Matters Ohio 7/22/25

Even more public money for private schools

Ohio’s top politicians want to spend an additional $432 million on private school tuition over the next two years, including a new voucher for unregulated religious schools. The House budget proposal, following the direction set by Gov. DeWine’s budget, continues to draw from a voucher playbook that disrupts and diminishes Ohio’s public schools, threatening the vast majority of Ohio children whose families rely on public schools to build their futures.

Jennifer Berry Hawes and Mollie Simon 1/24/25 Jennifer Berry Hawes and Mollie Simon 1/24/25

Segregation Academies Across the South Are Getting Millions in Taxpayer Dollars

Private schools across the South that were established for white children during desegregation are now benefiting from tens of millions in taxpayer dollars flowing from rapidly expanding voucher-style programs, a ProPublica analysis found.

National Education Policy Center 1/24/25 National Education Policy Center 1/24/25

The Fiscal Impacts of Expanded Voucher Programs and Charter-School Growth on Public Schools: Recommendations for Sustaining Adequate and Equitable School Finance Systems

The U.S. Department of Education has projected enrollment declines over the next decade, leading to budget cuts for school districts, which will be particularly impactful in urban and rural areas serving vulnerable students. As federal COVID-19 funds expire, districts will face challenges in cutting costs, potentially leading to layoffs or school closures. Meanwhile, many states have expanded voucher programs and charter schools, diverting funds from public schools despite limited enrollment growth. Research shows these shifts harm traditional public school financing. To address this, policymakers must ensure equitable funding for public schools and hold charter and private schools to the same standards as public ones.

National Coalition for Public Education 1/24/25 National Coalition for Public Education 1/24/25

Oppose $20 Billion Federal Private School Voucher Program

House Republican leadership want to include a $20 billion private school voucher program in the 2025 tax-reconciliation bill. Known as the Educational Choice for Children Act of 2024 (H.R. 9462 in the 118th Congress), it would give away $5 billion per year for each of the next four years of federal taxpayer dollars to fund private school vouchers. Instead of directing resources to the public schools that 90% of American children attend, vouchers divert critical federal dollars to students already attending private schools and to schools that can cherry pick which students they want to educate.

Kiera Butler 1/24/25 Kiera Butler 1/24/25

Christian Nationalists Are Opening Private Schools. Taxpayers Are Funding Them.

This politically charged approach to education likely isn’t for everyone—and because it’s a private school, it doesn’t have to be. Except for one thing: Dream City Christian Academy is one of a growing number of religious schools that are supported by public funds.

EdTrust 1/24/25 EdTrust 1/24/25

Protect Public Schools: An Advocacy Toolkit to Fight School Voucher Programs

School voucher programs and their many iterations (education savings accounts, tax credits, etc.) drain funds from public schools while disproportionately harming Black and Brown students from low-income backgrounds and students with disabilities. This toolkit provides the resources and information communities need to launch effective advocacy campaigns against school voucher programs in their state.

National Coalition for Public Education 1/24/25 National Coalition for Public Education 1/24/25

Keep Public Funds in Public Schools.Oppose $20 Billion National Private School Voucher Program Proposal

The Educational Choice for Children Act (H.R. 9462 in the
118th Congress) would give away $5 billion per year to
fund private school vouchers. Vouchers divert critical
funds from public schools to subsidize/pay for students,
many who already attend private schools. Private schools
cherry pick which students they want to admit, resulting
in discrimination.

Public Funds Public Schools 1/24/25 Public Funds Public Schools 1/24/25

The Education Wars: A Citizen’s Guide and Defense Manual

PFPS is excited to welcome back authors Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider to the PFPS webinar series. Ms. Berkshire and Dr. Schneider will discuss their new book, "The Education Wars: A Citizen’s Guide and Defense Manual," with Jasmine Bolton, Policy Director at the Partnership for the Future of Learning.

Jim Collier 9/12/24 Jim Collier 9/12/24

Ohio’s expanded vouchers are bleeding public schools that often outperform the private schools that benefit

Vouchers emerged in the United States as a tool to combat public school integration in southern states following the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Led by Virginia, state legislatures provided public funds for white students to attend private schools — often referred to as “segregation academies.”

A new era of vouchers rebranded as “school choice” has swept the country in recent years, including Ohio, resurrecting segregation academies on wealth and racial lines.

Jasmine Bolton and April Callen 9/12/24 Jasmine Bolton and April Callen 9/12/24

Don’t Be Fooled By 'School Choice.' It’s a Trojan Horse for Privatizing Education.

Since 2023, state legislators across America have introduced more than 200 bills to create or expand private school vouchers, using taxpayer funds to reimburse families who choose to send their children to private schools. Supporters of vouchers claim they promote “school choice” or even promote equity. The reality is they drain crucially needed resources from public education, the only system enshrined in all 50 states’ constitutions and committed to educating all students, regardless of abilities, economic circumstances, race, religion, gender or special needs.

Joe Dana 9/12/24 Joe Dana 9/12/24

They’re trying to destroy public ed': AZ superintendent unleashes frustration about misinformation concerning public school system

School superintendents typically don’t air their political grievances in public. They prefer to work behind-the-scenes with lobbyists on issues that affect their schools. But the superintendent of a prominent Arizona district is not holding back.

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