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The rapid expansion of school vouchers continues to deliver disappointing results. Recent data from Arizona makes it clearer than ever that low-income families are much less likely to use vouchers than high-income families. In addition, private schools across the country appear to be raising their tuition prices because of voucher programs.
A new analysis of Arizona’s voucher program by the investigative outlet ProPublica finds that the richer the student’s zip code, the more likely they are to use a private school voucher. Additionally, the poorest zip codes have the smallest portions of students using vouchers. The analysis outlines the additional costs of vouchers, such as transportation, and private school tuition exceeding the expense of the voucher. In the Phoenix area, some top tier private schools charge as much as $ 35,000 yearly, and the average voucher from Arizona’s program is typically around $7,000 or $8,000 a year. Another report found that schools raised their tuition when parents used vouchers.
While the news is unsurprising, it reinforces the idea that vouchers are a handout to the wealthy. Supporters promote vouchers as a way to expand equity and opportunity, but in fact, vouchers use public money to fund the private, oftentimes religious, education of a handful of students instead of supporting the public schools that serve 90% of our nation’s students.
Vouchers also erect barriers to entry. Students who receive vouchers are still required to apply to private schools and can be denied admission for reasons such as their sexual orientation. Private schools are not held to the same standards as public schools and are often not able or required to accommodate students with disabilities in the way that public schools can. Oftentimes, the voucher does not cover the entire cost of tuition, which can leave families to cover thousands of dollars in fees. Private school also burdens families with additional costs, such as transportation, uniforms, and extracurricular activities.
Public School Advocates Fight Back (and win!)
Kentucky: Earlier this month, Governor Andy Beshear joined American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten to rally against school privatization efforts in the state. Kentucky is one of three states that will vote on private school vouchers this November. At the rally, Weingarten said “if we want to have that Kentucky culture of public schooling being the equalizer for all kids, we need to vote ‘no’ on Amendment 2.” She also emphasized that “many private schools in the country have raised their tuition” because of voucher policies.
Connecticut: In Connecticut, the New Haven Federation of Teachers and the Connecticut For All coalition, a partner of the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools, organized rallies to raise awareness of the decline in public school funding as a result of the expiration of emergency pandemic funding (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief). At the rally, officials called on the federal government to fully fund Title I and IDEA, and urged the state to fully and equitably fund schools.
Events & Resources for Action
Public Funds Public Schools is a national campaign founded by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Education Law Center, and the American law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, to raise awareness of the problems of privatization of public-school funds. The initiative has a bill tracker that can be used to follow legislation surrounding voucher and privatization schemes.