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Maurice Cunnningham 9/12/24 Maurice Cunnningham 9/12/24

How the Right Exploits ‘Moms’ to Privatize Education

Moms are allegedly at the center of a rightwing campaign attacking public schools and advocating for school vouchers. The latest entry in the “moms space” is called Moms on a Mission, which the organization’s website reveals is an offshoot of the Betsy DeVos-controlled American Federation for Children (AFC).

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.

Catherine Caruso 5/24/24 Catherine Caruso 5/24/24

Pennsylvania Taxpayers Are Funding Discriminatory Religious Schools

In Pennsylvania, as anywhere else in America, private schools can do pretty much whatever they want. They can refuse to accept disabled or LGBTQ applicants. They can expel students for getting pregnant and even for merely having LGBTQ friends outside of school. At the same time, they can require applicants’ families to attend church, not to mention teach students that God created the universe in six days.

Pastors for Texas Children 1/8/24 Pastors for Texas Children 1/8/24

Voucher Talking Points

Pastors for Texas Children developed this one-pager with anti-voucher arguments.

Pastors for Texas Children 12/22/23 Pastors for Texas Children 12/22/23

Conversation Points With Clergy

This toolkit includes talking points and fact sheets from anti-voucher arguments to the imperative of faith/school leader partnership.

The Parents' Campaign Research and Education Fund 12/22/23 The Parents' Campaign Research and Education Fund 12/22/23

Mississippi Constitution Graphic

The Parents' Campaign Research and Education Fund Mississippi Constitution Graphic

Illinois Families for Public Schools 12/22/23 Illinois Families for Public Schools 12/22/23

Who Supports Illinois’ Invest In Kids Voucher Program?

Voucher programs around the country—whether in the form of traditional vouchers, education savings accounts (ESAs),or tax credit scholarships—are supported by well funded and organized groups. These include: Americans for Prosperity (the Koch brothers’ 501c4), the American Legislative Education Council (ALEC), the American Federation for Children (Betsy DeVos’ 501c4), Moms for Liberty and the Heritage Foundation, among others.

What do these organizations have in common? They work openly to discredit public schools and push a privatization agenda, using the slogans of school choice, education freedom and parent rights. Many of them were on the ground working on the April 2023 school board elections in Illinois.

Public Funds Public Schools 12/22/23 Public Funds Public Schools 12/22/23

PFPS Interview with Richland County Public Education Partners

Robert Lominack, Executive Director of Richland County Public Education Partners (RCPEP), and Debbie Billings, a parent and public school advocate in South Carolina affiliated with RCPEP, spoke with Nicole Ciullo, Research & Policy Associate at Education Law Center. Founded in 2018, RCPEP works to improve Richland County public schools by supporting and developing innovative initiatives that assist teachers, students, and families. The interview, which was conducted earlier in the legislative session, has been edited for length and clarity.

Policy Matters Ohio 12/22/23 Policy Matters Ohio 12/22/23

State of Ohio Schools 2023

Ohio's students deserve a world-class education, including safe and well-resourced schools that are staffed with teachers who are well trained and fairly paid. Providing that education is our shared responsibility, and we all share its benefits as well: Every family does better when the next generation is prepared for the future, every community is enhanced when its young people are engaged, curious and active participants, and every boss wants a highly qualified hiring pool.

However, the combined effects of the COVID pandemic and Ohio’s legacy of inadequate, inequitable funding have weakened the role school plays as a foundational public institution. Ohio ranks 21st in the nation for K-12 education, 46th for equitable distribution of funding, and 40th in starting teacher salaries. Ohio public schools educate 1.7 million students across racial, gender, socioeconomic and geographic lines — and every one of them deserves better.

Save Our Schools Arizona 12/22/23 Save Our Schools Arizona 12/22/23

The Truth About ESA Vouchers

This webpage from Save Our Schools Arizona provides resources, videos, and fact sheets about Arizona’s ESA voucher program.

Public Funds Public Schools 12/22/23 Public Funds Public Schools 12/22/23

Keep Public Funds in Texas Public Schools

Private school voucher bills are being debated in the Texas Legislature again this year. An ever-increasing body of research shows that vouchers negatively affect student achievement, harm rural communities, exacerbate school segregation, promote discrimination, and undermine public school systems that welcome and serve all students. Texas public schools, which educate the vast majority of children, including the largest number of rural students in the country, remain starkly underfunded. Texas lawmakers must continue rejecting proposals for harmful voucher programs and instead use state resources to invest in public schools.

Public Funds Public Schools 12/22/23 Public Funds Public Schools 12/22/23

Let the Illinois “Invest in Kids” Private School Voucher Law Sunset

Illinois’ “Invest in Kids” tax credit voucher program is set to sunset after the 2023-2024 school year. This unpopular pilot program should lapse as intended in the law. Illinois should reject any attempt to extend the program or make it permanent, as well as any proposal to establish additional voucher programs. Instead, the state must invest in its underfunded public schools, which, unlike private schools, welcome and serve all students.

National Coalition for Public Education 12/22/23 National Coalition for Public Education 12/22/23

Facts About Vouchers

The National Coalition for Public Education has compiled a series of fact sheets on school voucher programs.

National Coalition for Public Education 12/22/23 National Coalition for Public Education 12/22/23

Studies and Reports

The National Coalition for Public Education has compiled studies and reports on school voucher programs.

Illinois Families for Public Schools 12/21/23 Illinois Families for Public Schools 12/21/23

End the ‘Invest in Kids’ Act voucher program

Illinois Families for Public Schools developed a fact sheet on why policy makers should end the Invest in Kids Act voucher program.

Public Funds Public Schools 12/21/23 Public Funds Public Schools 12/21/23

Public Funds Public Schools Research Page

This webpage from Public Funds Public Schools is a useful tool for policy makers to filter through research on school voucher programs.

Kris Nordstrom 12/20/23 Kris Nordstrom 12/20/23

Signs of fraud raise major red flags about expanding NC school vouchers

This op-ed by Kris Nordstrom calls out that many private schools in North Carolina have been awarded more vouchers than they have students. Yet shoddy financial oversight and potential fraud aren’t the only reasons why vouchers are a bad idea for North Carolina. The new data is just the latest evidence that voucher expansion is a mistake. The only question that remains is whether voucher proponents will bother trying to justify this reckless agenda.

National Education Association 12/20/23 National Education Association 12/20/23

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.

Education Law Center Pennsylvania 12/20/23 Education Law Center Pennsylvania 12/20/23

Joint Letter re “Lifeline Scholarship” Proposal

The Education Law Center-PA, PSEA, AFT-Pennsylvania, AFL-CIO, AFSCME, SEIU, SEIU 32BJ, UFCW 1776, and the Pennsylvania Building and Construction Trades Council on behalf of their members wrote a letter to the Shapiro administration conveying deep concern and complete opposition to the idea of implementing any school voucher program in Pennsylvania, whether it is called “lifeline scholarships” or anything else

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