VoucherFAIL

Because taxpayer money should not be used to bail out private religious schools.

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Under Mike Pence, fundamentalist schools were in absolute heaven

Creationists, Catholics and a madrasa all received taxpayer funding.

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We sense a disturbance in the For... seeable future of public school funding 

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The Department of Education isn’t for purchase. Help Us Urge The Senate To #DumpDeVos

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Now Is the Time to Fight Against Private School Vouchers! — Take Action Today!

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Reminder: School Choice Week Is a Vehicle to Promote Taxpayer Money for Private Religious Schools

It seems that it’s no coincidence that National Catholic Schools Week follows National School Choice Week. After all, in most states, the vast majority of students receiving vouchers use those vouchers to attend private, religious schools. And, it’s no secret that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops supports the creation and reauthorization of private school vouchers throughout the country.

Aside from violating the principle of the separation of church and state, allowing taxpayer money to flow to religious schools also entails government funding of discriminatory practices, such as allowing those private schools to deny admissions to students based on religion and to teach anti-LGBT curriculum. While there are many, many reasons to oppose private school vouchers, at the end of the day, it’s important to remember what the driving force behind voucher programs really are, and the religious liberty threats that are inherent to the school choice debate.

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Vouchers Are Bad; Universal Vouchers Are Worse

Last year, Nevada enacted the most expansive voucher program in the nation: a universal Education Savings Account program. This type of program allows any public-school eligible student in the state to participate, regardless of economic need. Not surprisingly, the result is that the students taking advantage of the voucher program are the wealthiest students, i.e. those students who already have the resources to attend private schools on their own.

A study conducted in October 2015 revealed that the vast majority of applicants for Nevada’s program were from the state’s wealthiest zip codes, with only nine applications from the state’s poorest zip codes. If vouchers really are meant to help the neediest students, universal voucher schemes directly contravene that intent. Universal voucher programs, like the one in Nevada, are just one more reason to oppose private school vouchers.

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Couldn’t Have Said It Better Ourselves…

Yesterday, the Tennessee House Finance Committee voted to approve a voucher bill that would provide vouchers to students zoned to attend failing public schools in the state. The bill, HB 1049, passed by only one vote, and it faced bipartisan opposition. One committee member, Rep. David Alexander (R-Winchester) voiced his opposition to the bill:

“I think you’re trying to open up a Pandora’s box. You don’t have any idea where these children are going to end up going to school … what kind of strange ideology might be taught at this school besides reading writing and arithmetic. I’m here to tell you that in a religious private school, the ideas swirling about those young impressionable children will take hold. That really concerns me.”

We agree. Voucher programs notoriously lack accountability and use taxpayer dollars to send students to private religious schools, which have been known to teach junk science. As Tennessee’s voucher bill advances next to the House, AU will continue to oppose it and argue that public funds should not be spent on schools that provide students with questionable curriculum.

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ESAs Continue to be the Trendiest Voucher Scheme

One of the growing trends among voucher proponents in recent years is to create Education Savings Accounts (ESAs). Last year alone, two states – Arizona and Florida – expanded their ESAs, and three other states – Nevada, Mississippi, and Tennessee – created new ESAs. This year, Senator Ted Cruz has already introduced a bill in Congress that would create an ESA program in the District of Columbia.

ESAs are just vouchers cloaked in a different name. ESA programs use the funds that a state would otherwise spend on a student to attend public schools and deposits that money into an account for parents to use on other schooling options, including private school tuition. And unlike voucher programs, where there are generally stipulations on who can qualify to receive a voucher, such as income level or disability, ESAs don’t always require such criteria. For example, Nevada’s ESA program is open to any public school student in the state.

In 2016, it’s likely that ESA programs will continue to be pursued by legislators across the country. Stay up to date on legislation moving through the states that would create ESAs and other voucher programs by checking out American United’s state action center.

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It’s “National School Choice” week once again, which means religious groups and others who think the government should support their schools through taxpayer-funded vouchers are about to hit you with a load of propaganda.

Americans United opposes school vouchers primarily because they are an opportunity for private, religious schools to get a government-funded bailout. After all, nearly two-thirds of the D.C. voucher schools participating in 2014-2015 were faith based.

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New Study Finds Vouchers Harm Students

It’s no secret that vouchers often fail to provide students the same opportunities, resources, and constitutional and statutory rights that students in public schools otherwise receive. And, previous studies have also been dubious about whether voucher students actually achieve greater academic results. For example, the Department of Education’s final report on the D.C. voucher program showed that students who received vouchers perform no better in math or reading than students who did not.

Now, there’s a new study out of Louisiana that proves that students with vouchers actually perform worse than their non-voucher peers. According to the study, students in the voucher program achieved lower test scores than those in public schools – as much as 50% lower scores in math in particular. And, the study found that the vouchers especially hurt low-income students, who are the students the program is designed to help.

This study is just another recent example of how private school vouchers are not only bad policy, but actually harm the students they are seeking to help the most. During this National School Choice Week, remind your legislators that private school vouchers are harmful and urge them to oppose any new programs.