ALL RESOURCES

FILTER BY TAG

FILTER BY AUTHOR

Stephen Caruso, Angela Couloumbis, and Katie Meyer 9/12/24 Stephen Caruso, Angela Couloumbis, and Katie Meyer 9/12/24

Inside Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s support for private school vouchers

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is being eyed as a potential Democratic vice presidential nominee, but with that attention has come intense scrutiny of his support for a traditionally conservative idea: taxpayer-funded private school vouchers.

Paige Masten 9/12/24 Paige Masten 9/12/24

NC voucher fallout: We’re all paying for pricey private schools. It’ll get worse

Charlotte Christian School states on its website that all families applying for financial assistance for the 2024-25 school year must also apply to North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarship program. The same is true of Trinity Academy in Raleigh, North Raleigh Christian Academy and many other schools in the state that accept voucher payments.

Emily Walkenhorst 9/12/24 Emily Walkenhorst 9/12/24

Deal to expand private school vouchers falls apart as NC lawmakers wind down session

An effort to expand a North Carolina program that uses taxpayer dollars to send students to private school collapsed in the statehouse as lawmakers drew the short legislative session to a close on Thursday.

Republican leaders of the state House and Senate had hoped to expand the Opportunity Scholarships program and had earmarked more than $460 million for the program in separate budget proposals. But negotiations fell apart between the chambers as they tried to figure out how to spend a $1 billion surplus.

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).

Jessica Corbett 9/12/24 Jessica Corbett 9/12/24

This Ain't It': Pennsylvanians Slam Jay-Z's Roc Nation for School Voucher Push

Vouchers emerged in the United States as a tool to combat public As pro-public education groups plan a rally at the Pennsylvania State Capitol, educators and advocates on Friday criticized hip-hop icon Jay-Z's company Roc Nation over a campaign backing a proposed school voucher program in the commonwealth.

The campaign's "Dine & Learn" events in Philadelphia this month are intended to share information about the Pennsylvania Award for Student Success (PASS) or "Lifelife Scholarships," as supporters also call them. If approved by state legislators in the next budget, the program would put tax dollars toward "education opportunity accounts" for certain families to send their children to K-12 private schools rather than low-performing public ones.

Joshua Cowen 9/12/24 Joshua Cowen 9/12/24

How Do Vouchers Defund Public Schools? Four Warnings and One Big Takeaway

Over the past two years, school voucher systems and other related schemes that divert taxpayer revenue toward private K-12 tuition have passed state legislatures at unprecedented rates. Although these recent bills became law only, for the most part, in red states, their supporters include a handful of Democrats in other parts of the country as well. And all of this comes despite a decade of evidence that vouchers have led to some of the steepest declines in student achievement on record.

Joanna LeFebvre 6/4/24 Joanna LeFebvre 6/4/24

States Should Reverse Course on Defunding Public Education Through Private School Vouchers and Property Tax Cuts

During this year’s legislative sessions, at least one in three states are considering or have enacted school voucher expansions alongside broad, untargeted property tax cuts. Over half of states have already enacted deep personal and corporate income tax cuts in the last three years. These policies will result in under-resourced public schools, worse student outcomes, and, over time, weaker communities.

Joshua Cowen 5/30/24 Joshua Cowen 5/30/24

Dark Money Vouchers Are Having a Moment

Over the past 12 months, the decades-long push to divert tax dollars toward religious education has reached new heights. As proclaimed by EdChoice—the advocacy group devoted to school vouchers—2023 has been the year these schemes reached “escape velocity.” In strictly legislative terms, seven states passed new voucher systems, and ten more expanded existing versions. Ten states now run eleven universal voucher programs, all of which have no meaningful income or other restrictions.

Joshua Cowen 5/30/24 Joshua Cowen 5/30/24

Research on school vouchers suggests concerns ahead for education savings accounts

Private school choice is having quite a moment. Whether structured as traditional school vouchers paying direct appropriations for private tuition, scholarships funded by redirected state income tax liabilities, or as new education savings accounts (ESAs), the use of public funds for private schooling has never been more prominent. In 2023 alone, seven states passed new programs and nine expanded existing plans. This push is largely a red state phenomenon. Of the new or expanded private choice states, all but two went for Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

Sam Stockard 5/24/24 Sam Stockard 5/24/24

Conservative groups stand in way of Tennessee governor’s private-school vouchers

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Republican leaders — predicting passage of a private-school voucher bill in 2025 — will have to outflank conservative groups as well as opponents such as the Tennessee Education Association.

Public Funds Public Schools and Education Law Center 5/24/24 Public Funds Public Schools and Education Law Center 5/24/24

NJ A4144/S3035 is a Private School Voucher Bill and it is Extremely Dangerous

Make no mistake – this bill would create New Jersey’s first and only PRIVATE SCHOOL VOUCHER program. Do not be fooled by code words like “scholarships” and “student support organization” and “tax credits.” As one court put it when striking down a similar tax credit voucher law, the program’s unconstitutionality could not be “evaded through the mechanism of funding this program from a tax credit rather than by a direct appropriation of tax dollars.”

Gov. Roy Cooper and Gov. Andy Beshear 5/24/24 Gov. Roy Cooper and Gov. Andy Beshear 5/24/24

Welcome to the GOP's new education agenda: Loot our public schools for private vouchers

In North Carolina and Kentucky, public schools are the center of our communities. We’re proud public school graduates ourselves – and we know the critical role our schools play in teaching our students, strengthening our workforces and growing our economies.

Geoff Mulvihill 5/24/24 Geoff Mulvihill 5/24/24

Parents like private school vouchers so much that demand is exceeding budgets in some states

In some states, higher-income families can now use taxpayer money to cover private school tuition -- and more people than projected are taking the offer, which might force scrambles to shore up state budgets. It’s especially an issue in states like Arizona and Iowa, where at least some families whose children were already in private school can now take advantage of public funding.

Associated Press 5/24/24 Associated Press 5/24/24

$6,500 school vouchers coming to Georgia as bill gets final passage and heads to governor

Georgia senators gave final approval Wednesday to a plan to create a $6,500 voucher funding for private school tuition and home schooling, sending the measure to Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature.

Alec MacGillis 5/24/24 Alec MacGillis 5/24/24

Private Schools, Public Money: School Leaders Are Pushing Parents to Exploit Voucher Programs

Voucher expansions have unleashed a flood of additional taxpayer dollars to the benefit of families already enrolled in private schools. In Ohio, some schools are now “strongly encouraging” parents to apply for vouchers, regardless of need or income.

Carl Davis 5/24/24 Carl Davis 5/24/24

Tax Avoidance Continues to Fuel School Privatization Efforts

One of the most disturbing recent shifts in U.S. public policy has been the renewed push to privatize the nation’s K-12 education system.[1] Originally born out of a desire to preserve school segregation and racial inequality more broadly, the so-called “school choice” movement is enjoying a resurgence as many state lawmakers look for ways to move more kids into private and religious schools.[2] That end is being hastened through the tax code in major ways. In short, school privatization proponents have managed to set up state policies that harness deficiencies in federal tax law and the self-interest of wealthy families to gin up enthusiasm for privatizing the U.S. public education system.

Beth Lewis and Damaris Allen 5/3/24 Beth Lewis and Damaris Allen 5/3/24

School vouchers are big in Arizona and Florida, but Tennessee should not follow suit

Tennessee should fight back against the voucher scheme. Invest richly in local public schools as the most important economic driver for your state.

Peter Greene 5/3/24 Peter Greene 5/3/24

Economist Douglas Harris Makes The Free Market Argument Against Vouchers

Public school advocates have long argued that attempts to inject free market ideology and mechanics into education are misguided and destructive because the free market is a bad fit for universal public education. But in a new paper, Douglas Harris argues that the reverse is true: schooling is a bad fit for free market logic.

New Jersey and National Organizations 5/3/24 New Jersey and National Organizations 5/3/24

Open Letter Against NJ Voucher Bill

Network for Public Education 5/3/24 Network for Public Education 5/3/24

Tell Congress. No Federal Vouchers: Not Now, Not Ever.

It is School Choice Week, and the usual suspects are pressuring Congress to pass a national tax-credit voucher bill called the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA).The ECCA would give tax credits to individuals and corporations who donate to tax-exempt organizations that provide scholarships to K-12 students to attend private schools. Donors could receive up to a $5,000 tax credit, potentially draining our national treasury of up to ten billion dollars this year. That is the 2024 cap.

ALL RESOURCES

FILTER BY TAG

FILTER BY AUTHOR

Partnering Organizations