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

Federal Voucher Program – FAQs

The expansion of private school vouchers through the inclusion of a federal voucher scheme in the budget reconciliation bill passed in July is part of a broader assault on public education designed to privatize one of the most important common goods underpinning American democracy. Opting in to the federal program (the state’s choice), even to use voucher money for public education students, broadly endangers public education and opens the door to further voucher expansion, whether vouchers are already available in a given state or not.

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.

Norín Dollard, PhD and Esteban Leonardo Santis, PhD at Florida Policy Institute 8/21/25 Norín Dollard, PhD and Esteban Leonardo Santis, PhD at Florida Policy Institute 8/21/25

Federal Voucher System — Like Florida’s — Would Divert Funding to Private Schools and Home-Schoolers

The reconciliation bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives includes a federal tax credit voucher that would provide taxpayer-funded scholarships to pay for tuition at private schools and for home-schooled students. This $5-billion tax credit would divert funding that would otherwise go into federal coffers. This part of the reconciliation bill would make vouchers available to students in every state, even in those states where voters have opposed them like Kentucky, Colorado, and Nebraska, most recently.

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.

Grand Canyon Institute 7/22/25 Grand Canyon Institute 7/22/25

ESA Voucher Fraud Case Including Fake Children Raises Integrity Concerns About Universal Vouchers

On Monday, Dec. 2, news broke that an out-of-state couple were indicted for defrauding the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) universal voucher program, by submitting applications for 50 children, 43 of whom do not exist, according to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.

Joshua Cowen 7/22/25 Joshua Cowen 7/22/25

The Private Eye

Researcher Josh Cowen has developed a newsletter alongside Public Funds Public Schools on school vouchers and right-wing politics.

Eli Hager 1/24/25 Eli Hager 1/24/25

Failing charter school closed by Az regulators reopened as a taxpayer-funded private religious school

Arizona does no vetting of new voucher schools. Not even if the school or the online school “provider” has already failed, or was founded yesterday, or is operating out of a strip mall or a living room or a garage, or offers just a half hour of instruction per morning. (If you’re an individual tutor in Arizona, all you need in order to register to start accepting voucher cash is a high school diploma.)

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.

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.

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