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Public Funds Public Schools 2/12/24 Public Funds Public Schools 2/12/24

The PFPS Interview: Darian Burns (SEF) and Mason Goodwin (GYJC) on Fighting Voucher Expansion in Georgia

The latest installment in the Public Funds Public Schools interview series highlights the work of public education advocates in Georgia, who successfully defeated private school voucher proposals during the 2023 legislative session. As these proposals continue to pass in states across the country at alarming rates, it is more crucial than ever that state and local organizations share knowledge and strategies on how best to oppose these harmful policies.

State Rep. Glenn Rogers 1/18/24 State Rep. Glenn Rogers 1/18/24

Vouchers are not conservative

A voucher program is a policy of diverting state and taxpayer resources marked for public education to private entities. Proponents of this system try to claim that children are “trapped in the public education system they were raised in.” This is, quite frankly, not true.

Public Funds Public Schools and Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy 1/15/24 Public Funds Public Schools and Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy 1/15/24

The Dangers of Private School Vouchers for Idaho Students, Schools, and Communities

This report by Public Funds Public Schools (PFPS) and the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy (the Center) explains why Idaho policymakers must continue to reject proposals for private school vouchers and instead invest in the state’s underfunded public education system, which serves the vast majority of children.

Cyrus Driver and Mary Gonzalez 1/11/24 Cyrus Driver and Mary Gonzalez 1/11/24

School choice seems like a quick fix, but does more harm than good for families in the U.S.

Right now, a lot of people claim to have the answer to solving the problem of equity in our education system. It seems that equity in education is a value many of us share, regardless of political leaning. There are a number of roads that people think will take us there, but not all roads are clear on the reality that education is a public good and a key ingredient in a healthy democracy.

Florida Policy Institute 1/11/24 Florida Policy Institute 1/11/24

Critics blast school voucher expenses, including surfboards, TVs, theme park tickets

Gov. Ron DeSantis in March signed House Bill 1, which expands school voucher eligibility to all, regardless of family income.

The average amount that pays for options like private or homeschooling is $7,800.

Damaris Allen 1/11/24 Damaris Allen 1/11/24

Florida school vouchers can pay for TVs, kayaks and theme parks. Is that OK?

As Florida lawmakers expanded eligibility for school vouchers this year, they also gave parents more ways to spend the money.

Theme park passes, 55-inch TVs, and stand-up paddleboards are among the approved items that recipients can buy to use at home. The purchases can be made by parents who home-school their children or send them to private schools, if any voucher money remains after paying tuition and fees.

CREED and HEAL NC 1/11/24 CREED and HEAL NC 1/11/24

Students, educators advocate for public schools

Every Child NC's "Opportunity for Every Child" rally was held in response to the Republican-led legislative efforts to expand private school vouchers this long session. Speakers spoke about the importance of funding quality and equitable public education.

CREED and HEAL NC 1/11/24 CREED and HEAL NC 1/11/24

Republicans Poised to Further Undermine North Carolina Public Schools in Upcoming Votes

Proposed private school voucher expansions divert even more money from an already underfunded public school system, and fail to address severe teacher shortages.

North Carolina public schools face severe teacher and staff shortages, especially in rural areas, and the state ranks dead last or near last in several national categories charting public education spending.

Rally against private school vouchers</a> (CBS17)

CREED and HEAL NC 1/11/24 CREED and HEAL NC 1/11/24

Rally against private school vouchers (CBS17)

CBS 17 covers a a CREED and HEAL NC rally against school vouchers.

Donald Cohen 1/11/24 Donald Cohen 1/11/24

The Privatization of Everything

As people reach for social justice and better lives, they create public goods--free education, public health, open parks, clean water, and many others--that must be kept out of the market. When private interests take over, they strip public goods of their power to lift people up, creating instead a tool to diminish democracy, further inequality, and separate us from each other.

Sherri Jones 1/11/24 Sherri Jones 1/11/24

Let’s listen to what parents, not politicians, really want from their public schools

As a school board member in Arizona, I hear the concerns, hopes and frustrations that parents and citizens have about our public schools. The things that families worry about? School safety, shrinking budgets, student achievement and the accessibility of programs.

These are the issues that unite our students and families in our public schools and the kinds of problems that they want addressed. And these are the issues that I really want to work on with other policymakers who, regardless of political affiliation, care about similar things.

Liz Canada 1/11/24 Liz Canada 1/11/24

School Funding: A New Lawsuit and COVID-19

Though it has been the subject of debate for decades, school funding is back in the limelight in New Hampshire. The state Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week after four districts sued the state for not funding an adequate education for students. We examine the history and nuances of this discussion and explore how the issue is complicated by COVID-19.

Kevin Welner 1/11/24 Kevin Welner 1/11/24

‘Government Schools’ or Public Schools? Trump, DeVos, and the Language of School Choice

President Donald Trump didn’t coin the phrase “government schools.” But he gave it a big stage and a broader public audience during Tuesday’s State of the Union address, when he used it to urge Congress to back a bill that would provide $5 billion in tax credits to support scholarships for private school admission, tutoring, and other educational services.

Kevin Welner 1/11/24 Kevin Welner 1/11/24

Religious School Choice Case May Yield Landmark Supreme Court Decision

With oral arguments coming on Wednesday, both sides of the long-running fight over vouchers for religious schools are preparing for a watershed moment for public education.

Preston Green/Kevin Welner 1/11/24 Preston Green/Kevin Welner 1/11/24

School Choice Supreme Court Case

The American Federation of Teachers and the Center for Education Reform don’t agree on much. But they both think a Supreme Court case, with oral arguments set for Wednesday, about whether a state can prohibit public funds from going to religious schools is a very big deal.

Policy Matters Ohio 1/11/24 Policy Matters Ohio 1/11/24

Ohio Anti-Voucher Coalition (WCBE)

Ohio public school districts that support a lawsuit against the state over private school vouchers say Republican leaders are bullying and intimidating them.

According to A.J. Calderone, superintendent of LaBrae Local Schools in Trumbull County and a member of the coalition Vouchers Hurt Ohio , Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) and Auditor Keith Faber (R-Ohio) wrote to all of Ohio’s public school districts earlier this summer asking for information about individual school districts that were involved in the lawsuit against the state. Calderone said the letter was unnecessary because the requested information would have been available through the state's Legislative Service Commission.

Policy Matters Ohio 1/11/24 Policy Matters Ohio 1/11/24

Ohio Lawsuit (NBC4)

A growing number of school districts are joining a lawsuit against the state, pushing back against private school vouchers. The lawsuit was filed last year and is awaiting trial.

“Vouchers are going on trial,” Dayton Public Schools board member Jocelyn Rhynard said. “And we will make our case in the court of law, where the law matters, and the constitution cannot be ignored.”