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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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Signs of fraud raise major red flags about expanding NC school vouchers</a>
Accountability Kris Nordstrom Accountability Kris Nordstrom

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.

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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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Accountability and Private School Choice</a>
Accountability National Education Policy Center Accountability National Education Policy Center

Accountability and Private School Choice

The report Accountability and Private-School Choice, released by the Manhattan Institute in October, 2021, addresses the question of how private school voucher programs should be regulated. That is, if private schools are to receive public funds, what accountability mech- anisms can fairly and reasonably safeguard taxpayer dollars? The report advocates for re- laxing accountability mechanisms that presently constrain some voucher programs, assert- ing that “more and better” private schools will participate in response, benefitting students academically. Such claims, however, are supported by a selective reading and intentional misreading of educational research. Insofar as that is the case, the report merely repeats well-worn ideological positions and neither advances what we know about the challenge of regulating private schools nor offers useful information for policy decisions.

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Public Dollars for Private Schools: 6 Recommendations for North Carolina’s School Voucher Program</a>
Accountability Public School Forum of North Carolina Accountability Public School Forum of North Carolina

Public Dollars for Private Schools: 6 Recommendations for North Carolina’s School Voucher Program

In this policy brief the Public School Forum of North Carolina provides six recommendations for North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarship school voucher program. The Opportunity Scholarships program in its current or expanded form represents significant investment of taxpayer dollars to support private and parochial schools. Similar to public schools and public charter schools, private schools that receive public dollars must be held accountable to the taxpayers who fund them. Additionally, parents must have access to accurate and reliable information when making school choice decisions, and state leaders must have the data needed to effectively evaluate how private schools receiving public funds are performing and to ensure that all children are receiving a sound basic education.

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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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How School Voucher Programs Hurt Students
Academic Performance Joshua Cowen Academic Performance Joshua Cowen

How School Voucher Programs Hurt Students

In recent months, state legislatures across the country have broadened efforts to subsidize private school tuition with taxpayer dollars. New proposals for these programs—collectively called school vouchers—have appeared in more than a dozen states and passed as major priorities for Republican governors like Kim Reynolds in Iowa and Sarah Huckabee Sanders in Arkansas. Since 2021, Arizona, Florida, Utah and West Virginia have also created or expanded voucher plans. Meanwhile, a handful states like Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio and Wisconsin have run voucher programs for years. But do school vouchers actually work? We need to focus on what research shows, and what that means for kids moving forward.

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Letter to IRS on Section 1001 Regulation in 2023-2024 Priority Guidance Plan
Types of Vouchers National Education Association Types of Vouchers National Education Association

Letter to IRS on Section 1001 Regulation in 2023-2024 Priority Guidance Plan

The National Education Association and partners wrote a letter urging that the IRS return to the work it left unfinished in 2019 when it issued final regulations on “Contributions in Exchange for State or Local Tax Credits” (RIN: 1545-BO89). Specifically, they suggest that the IRS issue a regulation clarifying the following:

A contribution of property in exchange for a 100 percent tax credit should be treated as equivalent to a sale at market value (“other disposition of property” under IRC section 1001) and the taxpayer should either owe tax on the portion of that sale that represents a gain, or recognize a loss if appropriate. When the contribution is made in exchange for a tax credit worth less than 100 percent of the amount donated, the transaction should be treated as part gift and part sale.

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Joint Letter re “Lifeline Scholarship” Proposal</a>
Types of Vouchers Education Law Center Pennsylvania Types of Vouchers Education Law Center Pennsylvania

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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Report to the Shapiro/Davis Team on Education in the Commonwealth
Types of Vouchers Education Voters of Pennsylvania Types of Vouchers Education Voters of Pennsylvania

Report to the Shapiro/Davis Team on Education in the Commonwealth

Education Voters of Pennsylvania developed this section on Pennsylvania’s EITC/OSTC school voucher programs with support from the PA Schools Work Campaign. The Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) voucher programs work by reducing taxes paid by businesses to the state when they contribute to scholarship organizations that provide vouchers for children to attend a private or religious school. The programs are administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).

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PA’s EITC and OSTC Training </a>Module
Types of Vouchers Education Voters of Pennsylvania Types of Vouchers Education Voters of Pennsylvania

PA’s EITC and OSTC Training Module

Education Voters of Pennsylvania developed a series of modules on school funding topics for advocates. The Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) module includes a video, handouts, activities and a mini quiz to check for understanding and certify your completion of the course. Most should take less than ½ hour to complete and you can work at your own pace.

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