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Illinois’ Invest in Kids Act voucher program and the separation of church and state
Illinois Families for Public Schools Illinois Families for Public Schools

Illinois’ Invest in Kids Act voucher program and the separation of church and state

Illinois’ Invest in Kids Act voucher program, diverts tax dollars to private schools via a tax credit scholarship scheme. Ninety-five percent of schools receiving voucher money are religious schools. Many of those lobbying most strongly for continuation of the program, which was intended to sunset after five years, are from the religious schools that are recipients of the voucher funds.

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What To Know About the Invest In Kids Act</a>
Illinois Families for Public Schools Illinois Families for Public Schools

What To Know About the Invest In Kids Act

Illinois Families for Public Schools developed a fact sheet in English and Spanish with frequently asked questions about the Invest in Kids Act voucher program.

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Say No to School Vouchers
Accessibility Southern Education Foundation Accessibility Southern Education Foundation

Say No to School Vouchers

The opportunity to access a high-quality public education is foundational to the American promise of liberty and opportunity for all—a promise protected by the constitution of every state to educate young learners. School vouchers, in practice, mainly subsidize private school tuition for affluent families in or near urban areas. Private schools that accept school vouchers often restrict access to students based on ability status, religion, or personal characteristics such as style of hair. When used for school privatization, public funds primarily function as an unregulated benefit for wealthy families on the taxpayer’s dime. Instead of spending valuable time and resources on voucher programs, states should invest in strengthening the public education system with research-based strategies that improve students’ content mastery and whole-child outcomes.

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What we don’t know about Illinois’ Invest in Kids voucher program</a>
Accountability Illinois Families for Public Schools Accountability Illinois Families for Public Schools

What we don’t know about Illinois’ Invest in Kids voucher program

Lack of transparency and oversight for how public dollars are being spent is a fundamental flaw of school voucher programs. The Illinois Invest in Kids program is halfway through its fifth school year, and there is still a lot we don’t know about schools and students receiving vouchers. Public access to that data from state agencies is limited.

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Voucher Talking Points</a>
Accountability North Carolina Justice Center Accountability North Carolina Justice Center

Voucher Talking Points

This talking points document from the North Carolina Justice Center includes general talking points on the impact of school voucher programs and specific points in response to 2023 voucher legislation.

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What Do We Know About Voucher Schools</a>
Academic Performance National Education Association Academic Performance National Education Association

What Do We Know About Voucher Schools

This National Education Association fact sheet sheds some light on Milwaukee’s school voucher programs. The research shows voucher schools are smaller than non-voucher private schools. They’re often financially distressed schools with high failure rates, and lower initial school quality indicators. A substantial portion of voucher schools are start-ups that did not exist before taxpayer support.

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Vouchers for Private Virtual Education Are Misspent Public Money</a>
Academic Performance Public Funds Public Schools Academic Performance Public Funds Public Schools

Vouchers for Private Virtual Education Are Misspent Public Money

Research shows that virtual learning is simply not an effective, long-term substitute for brick and mortar schools.1 Because private virtual schools are not held accountable in the same way as public schools, they usually don’t report data on funding, student outcomes, and other important measures, and are largely absent from studies of virtual education. But based on what is known about virtual schools, including virtual charter schools, as well as extensive research on the harmful effects of voucher programs, it’s clear that voucher-supported, private virtual schools are a misuse of scarce public resources.

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