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Public Funds Public Schools 9/20/24 Public Funds Public Schools 9/20/24

South Carolina Supreme Court Strikes Down Unconstitutional Private School Vouchers

In a major victory for public school students in South Carolina—and across the country—the South Carolina Supreme Court has struck down the private school voucher program enacted by the State Legislature in 2023.

Eli Hager 9/12/24 Eli Hager 9/12/24

School Vouchers Were Supposed to Save Taxpayer Money. Instead They Blew a Massive Hole in Arizona’s Budget

Arizona, the model for voucher programs across the country, has spent so much money paying private schoolers’ tuition that it’s now facing hundreds of millions in budget cuts to critical state programs and projects.

Jason Bailey, Dustin Pugel, Joanna LeFebvre, and Pam Thomas 9/12/24 Jason Bailey, Dustin Pugel, Joanna LeFebvre, and Pam Thomas 9/12/24

The Impact of Diverting Public Money to Private School Vouchers in Kentucky

The Kentucky General Assembly enacted a private school voucher program in 2021 and legislation was filed to expand the program before the state Supreme Court struck it down for violating Kentucky’s constitution. That decision led directly to the legislature putting Amendment 2 on the ballot. Similar states that lack Kentucky’s constitutional protections for public education have recently increased spending on vouchers and school privatization at a rapidly growing cost to their budgets. Given that history and context, it is plausible to assume the legislature will pursue a similar path if voters approve the amendment.

Peter Greene 9/12/24 Peter Greene 9/12/24

PA: Bill Proposes $8000 Payoff To Ditch Public School

A new bill in the Pennsylvania Senate is a sort of super-voucher stripped of any pretense, because it simply pays parents to pull their child out of public school.

Zack Carreon, WVXU, Kendall Crawford 9/12/24 Zack Carreon, WVXU, Kendall Crawford 9/12/24

School voucher use has exploded. Some Ohio families can't take part

School vouchers have exploded in use in Ohio since last summer when the state legislature made all families, regardless of their income level, eligible for the private school scholarships.

Ethan Dewitt 9/12/24 Ethan Dewitt 9/12/24

School voucher program added to budget Also: Republican tax cuts stay intact

A controversial proposal to allow New Hampshire parents to use public funds for private school tuition will move ahead next month, after the Senate Finance Committee added the program to the state budget.

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.

Phil Williams 9/12/24 Phil Williams 9/12/24

Secret recording shows pressure on Republican lawmakers to vote for school vouchers

Another secret recording obtained by NewsChannel 5 Investigates reveals how Tennessee lawmakers are facing pressure to send your tax dollars to the state's private schools.

In the recording, the lead lobbyist for a well-financed group lobbying for school vouchers warns a reluctant lawmaker that his job could be at stake if he doesn't vote the way she wants him to vote.

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.

Casey Tolan, Rene Marsh and Nelli Black, 6/19/24 Casey Tolan, Rene Marsh and Nelli Black, 6/19/24

Arizona is sending taxpayer money to religious schools — and billionaires see it as a model for the US

A CNN investigation found that the program has cost hundreds of millions of dollars more than anticipated, disproportionately benefited richer areas, and funneled taxpayer funds to unregulated private schools that don’t face the same educational standards and antidiscrimination protections that public schools do. Since Arizona’s expanded program took effect in 2022, according to state data, it has sent nearly $2 million to Dream City and likely sapped millions of dollars from Paradise Valley’s budget.

Laura Meckler and Michelle Boorstein 6/4/24 Laura Meckler and Michelle Boorstein 6/4/24

Billions in taxpayer dollars now go to religious schools via vouchers

Billions in taxpayer dollars are being used to pay tuition at religious schools throughout the country, as state voucher programs expand dramatically and the line separating public education and religion fades.

Yesica Balderrama 6/3/24 Yesica Balderrama 6/3/24

A brief history of Wisconsin’s voucher school system: Less effective and more expensive than promised.

"It’s the $700 million answer to the question, “Why are Wisconsin taxpayers seeing a record number of school referendums?”

Voucher-funded schools. The once-small, Milwaukee-only experiment three decades ago is now a program that funds around 400 private, mostly religious schools in a “parental choice” program that has proven to be no better—and in some ways worse—than had those billions of dollars been invested in public schools. "

Wisconsin Public Education Network 6/3/24 Wisconsin Public Education Network 6/3/24

Accountability in Action Hub: Voucher Transparency

Voucher schools that use public funds for private education are not subject to the same assessment standards, teaching standards, or reporting standards as public schools; they are not overseen by publicly-elected school boards, required to hold public meetings, or subject to public records laws; they are not necessarily governed by nondiscrimination laws and are not legally required to serve students with disabilities.

OpenSky Policy Institute 6/3/24 OpenSky Policy Institute 6/3/24

OpenSky School Privatization Webinar 2023

In this webinar Heather DuBois Bourenane of the Wisconsin Public Education Network, Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer of the Indiana Coalition for Public Education, and Beth Lewis from SOS Arizona talk with OpenSky about the impact of school privatization legislation in their states.

In the Public Interest 5/31/24 In the Public Interest 5/31/24

School Vouchers are Budget Busters

This graphic shows how the costs of vouchers are impacting state budgets.

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