ALL RESOURCES

FILTER BY TAG

FILTER BY AUTHOR

Griffin Coop and Benjamin Hardy 9/12/24 Griffin Coop and Benjamin Hardy 9/12/24

Jim Walton gives $500K to defend Arkansas school vouchers from ballot measure

Walmart heir and Arvest Bank CEO Jim Walton donated $500,000 last month to a group working to defeat a proposed constitutional amendment on K-12 education, according to documents filed this week with the Arkansas Ethics Commission.

Jeff Bryant 9/12/24 Jeff Bryant 9/12/24

Two Visions of a Populist Education System

When pundits describe the current political zeitgeist as a drift toward “populism,” they’re generally trying to convince you that something very bad is going on. But it’s important to understand that populism, a term that basically means the will of the people, can swing both ways. Nowhere is this more obvious than in education policy and politics

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.

Jim Collier 9/12/24 Jim Collier 9/12/24

Ohio’s expanded vouchers are bleeding public schools that often outperform the private schools that benefit

Vouchers emerged in the United States as a tool to combat public school integration in southern states following the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Led by Virginia, state legislatures provided public funds for white students to attend private schools — often referred to as “segregation academies.”

A new era of vouchers rebranded as “school choice” has swept the country in recent years, including Ohio, resurrecting segregation academies on wealth and racial lines.

Jasmine Bolton and April Callen 9/12/24 Jasmine Bolton and April Callen 9/12/24

Don’t Be Fooled By 'School Choice.' It’s a Trojan Horse for Privatizing Education.

Since 2023, state legislators across America have introduced more than 200 bills to create or expand private school vouchers, using taxpayer funds to reimburse families who choose to send their children to private schools. Supporters of vouchers claim they promote “school choice” or even promote equity. The reality is they drain crucially needed resources from public education, the only system enshrined in all 50 states’ constitutions and committed to educating all students, regardless of abilities, economic circumstances, race, religion, gender or special needs.

Phil Williams 9/12/24 Phil Williams 9/12/24

Secret recording shows pressure on Republican lawmakers to vote for school vouchers

Another secret recording obtained by NewsChannel 5 Investigates reveals how Tennessee lawmakers are facing pressure to send your tax dollars to the state's private schools.

In the recording, the lead lobbyist for a well-financed group lobbying for school vouchers warns a reluctant lawmaker that his job could be at stake if he doesn't vote the way she wants him to vote.

Joe Dana 9/12/24 Joe Dana 9/12/24

They’re trying to destroy public ed': AZ superintendent unleashes frustration about misinformation concerning public school system

School superintendents typically don’t air their political grievances in public. They prefer to work behind-the-scenes with lobbyists on issues that affect their schools. But the superintendent of a prominent Arizona district is not holding back.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Yesica Balderrama 6/3/24 Yesica Balderrama 6/3/24

A brief history of Wisconsin’s voucher school system: Less effective and more expensive than promised.

"It’s the $700 million answer to the question, “Why are Wisconsin taxpayers seeing a record number of school referendums?”

Voucher-funded schools. The once-small, Milwaukee-only experiment three decades ago is now a program that funds around 400 private, mostly religious schools in a “parental choice” program that has proven to be no better—and in some ways worse—than had those billions of dollars been invested in public schools. "

Wisconsin Public Education Network 6/3/24 Wisconsin Public Education Network 6/3/24

Accountability in Action Hub: Voucher Transparency

Voucher schools that use public funds for private education are not subject to the same assessment standards, teaching standards, or reporting standards as public schools; they are not overseen by publicly-elected school boards, required to hold public meetings, or subject to public records laws; they are not necessarily governed by nondiscrimination laws and are not legally required to serve students with disabilities.

OpenSky Policy Institute 6/3/24 OpenSky Policy Institute 6/3/24

OpenSky School Privatization Webinar 2023

In this webinar Heather DuBois Bourenane of the Wisconsin Public Education Network, Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer of the Indiana Coalition for Public Education, and Beth Lewis from SOS Arizona talk with OpenSky about the impact of school privatization legislation in their states.

In the Public Interest 5/31/24 In the Public Interest 5/31/24

School Vouchers are Budget Busters

This graphic shows how the costs of vouchers are impacting state budgets.

Kris Nordstrom, Phyllis Nunn 5/30/24 Kris Nordstrom, Phyllis Nunn 5/30/24

How Voucher Programs Undermine the Education Landscape in North Carolina

In 2023, North Carolina lawmakers went all-in on vouchers. Via changes incorporated in the 2023 budget bill, North Carolina became the tenth state with a universal voucher program, one in which all private school students are eligible for state-funded subsidies regardless of their family income.

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.