Educational Vouchers

Lila Chafe

5-13-17

Green

The Department of Education must not pass The Choices in Education Act of 2017,

which would expand the use of federally funded vouchers, therefore taking away from the

funding towards the democracy of public schools, because vouchers have not created a
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significant change in school performance nor narrowed the achievement gap, and they allow the

private schools to choose which students they want, a potential for discrimination against

minorities and children with disabilities.

The educational voucher program is meant to contribute to a familys school choice.

School Choice is the basis of creating options of different types of schools that the parent can

enroll their child in. They could range from a public home district school, to a private school paid

for through vouchers. School choice advocates want to give more options to motivated parents

for their children. The voucher program is modeled to give families an amount of money so that

children can easily transfer from a public to a private or charter school if the public school is not

meeting their needs.

Vouchers were first put into place in 1989, in the Wisconsin legislature, when they passed

a program for the Milwaukee School District ("School Choice) . Originally, the program was

meant to help low income students get a higher education. The idea was next used to help

students with special needs when they passed the John M. McKay Scholarships Program, the

first program to give private school vouchers to students ("School Choice"). The first federally

funded voucher program was created in 2004 by Congress. This gave students especially in

under performing public schools, an option for a voucher in Washington, DC. In 2007, Utah

created a program that would give vouchers to any child in the state. It was voted down on the

state ballot. Another school voucher program was created for Indiana students from low income

families. Fourteen states offer programs with vouchers, but Washington DC is the only federally

funded program. Most programs have eligibility requirements so that students with learning or

physical disabilities can get the vouchers. The ones that dont, such as the DC and Milwaukee

program, let almost anyone use them.

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The new act, Choices in Education, votes to take parts of the Every Student Succeeds Act

(created in 2015, to further the No Child Left Behind act) away, and increase the use of vouchers

in Washington D.C. and in other places. It will repeal the Elementary and Secondary Education

Act (King Introduces). The Secretary of Education, Betsy Devos, is a huge voucher supporter.

In the administration, she wants to increase the money spent on vouchers. She also wants to

increase the amount of programs, and eventually move towards more federally funded programs,

which is what the Choices in Education Act of 2017 is pushing for.

The problem is that when the funding gets higher and higher for the private and private

charters, the government has to take away money from Public schools. Additionally, The system

has not narrowed the achievement gap significantly. Voucher schools are able to decide who they

want to accept into their schools, which leads to the rejection of minority children or children

with special needs, creating a high class, high performing school.

Public Schools were created to provide a free option of schooling that provides a high

quality education. These schools need funding, and the rise in the use of vouchers and charter

schools are taking away much needed money from public schools. When a child is given a

voucher, his or her family is given money to transfer to the new school, and money is taken away

from the public school. Public Schools suffer greatly from these budget cuts, and so do the

students enrolled. Budget cuts can be huge, In the same year, Cleveland public schools lost $9

million in state funding, plus another $10 million in administrative and transportation costs

taken largely from state funding earmarked for disadvantaged public school students ("The

Government Should Not"). When this happens, the schools have to choose what to change to

make the public school survive. If the schools resources are decreasing, the students are not

getting the same quality education. This can lead to another cycle of students leaving for better

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schools with vouchers, and the problem will continue. In the Milwaukee, where they implement

educational vouchers, the problems are very obvious, In the 2003-2004 school year, the cuts

[were] so severe that all but the bare essentials are being eliminated from some schoolsno

more teachers of music, art, or physical education. Class sizes [were] being increased for core

academic subjects; (Vouchers do not benefit Urban Students). The voucher programs that do not

have eligibility standards, such as the Ohio Voucher program, can let students from privileged

families access vouchers, and use the state money to get their child into a school that will benefit

them further. Not only does this take away students from the public schools, but it takes away

funding. Every school gets a certain amount of money for each child enrolled. When a child

leaves, the money leaves with them and the school is left with a decreased budget. Although

there is one less kid, the teacher still has to teach the rest, and the school still has to provide the

same resources. Instead of taking resources away from the public schools, the government

should fund the public schools so that they can be an equal opponent when competing with

private schools.

When the public school has to compete against private schools for enrollment, the school

is expected to be at the same level as schools with private funding. If their money is decreasing,

they will not be able to offer the same level of education, and the charter and private schools will

succeed. How can public schools compete with private schools if they cannot limit the number

of students they enroll? How can they compete if they are losing resources to vouchers? (The

Government Should Not Offer School Tuition Vouchers). Voucher programs are taking away

important funding from public schools, causing a lower standard of public education.

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Increasing the use of vouchers in our nation has not narrowed the achievement gap

significantly. It hasn't been enough to notice or matter. When vouchers were created, they were

supposed to help families choose better schools for their underperforming kids so that they could

get a better education. With this, the gap should close, as underprivileged children enrolled in

underperforming school get chances to get a higher education.

The cost of sending a child to a private school is huge, and vouchers are not always a free

ride for the low income students. Some voucher programs charge additional fees. For some

families, that it is not always an achievable option. The low income students tend to stay at their

usually underperforming schools, and then the privileged students move to private and charter

schools. Beverly Browne, Pamela Kinsey-Barker and Direka Martin wrote in their article,

Vouchers: An Initiative for School Reform, Primarily, opponents voice concerns that a

voucher system would lead to an elitist mentality that would broaden the gap between the haves

and have nots ("Vouchers: An Initiative"). The vouchers were meant to close the achievement

gap, to equal out performance through all economic levels, but it has not. The article False

Choice: How Private School Vouchers Might Harm Minority Students argues that, Department

of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) reported that there have been "no

statistically significant impacts on overall student achievement in reading and math after at least

four years" (False Choice). As vouchers have increased, it doesnt seem like gap is closing, so

the vouchers aren't doing their jobs. Wisconsin has one of the largest achievement gaps in the

nation between black and white students. There is no coincidence that they also use a huge

voucher program for students in the Milwaukee school district. In an article describing the extent

of the gap, Abigail Becker says, Statewide, just over 15 percent of black students tested

proficient on statewide exams in math, compared to 43 percent of white students, according to

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2013-14 test scores from the state Department of Public Instruction ("Wisconsins black-

white"). The vouchers are maintaining the large gap between black and white students, and low

income and high income students.

Vouchers are not keeping the education system democratically run, and they can lead to

potential discrimination from the private and private charter schools. Our education system is

made up of the idea of a democratic education system; everyone gets the right to a fair, high level

education. Public schools offer that, and they have for many years. In certain low income areas,

the public schools were not living up to the standard. The solution to this was the creation of

vouchers meant for low income students. The government should have taken the funding and

used it to improve the impoverished schools. Then, the level would equal out, and the democracy

would be maintained. The private schools are able to discriminate against students with learning

differences, physical disabilities, or minorities. Unlike public schools, private schools arent

responsible for providing accommodations for students that are enrolled and need extra help.

Beth Antunez, part of the department of government relations for the American Federation of

Teachers says, If a private school took public money, which is what would happen under a

voucher program, they should be required to have the same accountability standards(Antunez).

Private schools are able to pick and choose which students they take in, and usually they end up

with high performing kids. Donald Lambro says, It is a fact that 75% of private schools do not

offer special education programs, because of their high cost. Private schools are more interested

in "star" pupils than in students with special needs, or students from disadvantaged homes(The

Government Should not Offer). Many students in underperforming schools will have to travel

outside of their district to a private or charter school. If the student lives with an underprivileged

family, chances are, they won't be driving their child back and forth to a school that is out of the

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way. Except for in Ohio and the D.C. voucher program, the schools dont have to provide

transportation for students (Will School Vouchers Benefit). They can use that to keep students

living in farther districts out. Thomas Shannon, president of the National [School Boards]

Association says, "I am concerned that voucher systems... will lead towards a dual-school

system, in the sense that you have one school system operating under one set of rules, the other

school system, [the] public school system, operating under carefully articulated educational

policy in any given state(School Vouchers Are a Good). The schools to which the students are

transferring have little to no accountability. The rise in vouchers has helped foster a new way of

discriminating against minorities, low income families and children with disabilities.

Educational Vouchers are not a valid solution for raising the level of education, because

they focus on creating a new system instead of fixing the public schools. Vouchers take away a

portion of funding from the public schools. The effect is that the public schools are cutting down

on budgets, and cant equal out in the level of education, or fairly compete with the private

schools. Additionally, vouchers do not seem to be working to narrow the gap between low and

high income families. Finally, they can lead to discrimination. Private schools have their way of

picking the high performing students they would like, and they do not have the same

accountability. By increasing the amount of voucher systems, federally funded or not, our

nations democratic system of education is lost, and the quality of education lowers.

The new elected officials are concerned with localizing education, to lessen the federal

control. Betsy Devos says, Locally driven innovation and customization are far more likely to

generate meaningful results than are top-down mandates("U.S. Secretary"). By doing this, the

democracy will be lost, and local private and charters will succeed, leaving the public schools

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behind. It is important to keep the education system democratically run, by providing equal

education to all. We need to move back from vouchers, and not pass the Choices in Education

Act of 2017. Instead we should focus on improving the public schools so that our claim of

equality is maintained. If the education system is controlled by the government, every child will

get the same quality education that they deserve. We can make sure that everyone has an option

of enrolling their child in a public school with a high level of education, and no one will have to

move to a different schools so that their standards are met. The educational voucher system is

tearing our nations values of equal education apart, and we need to end it to raise the level of

education that public schools offer.

Works Cited

Antunez, Beth. Telephone interview. 30 Mar. 2017.

"Betsy DeVos's Accountability Problem." The Atlantic, www.theatlantic.com/
education/archive/2017/01/betsy-devoss-accountability-problem/513047/.
Accessed 23 Mar. 2017.
"Evaluation of Ohios EdChoice Scholarship Program: Selection, Competition, and
Performance Effects." Thomas B. Fordham Institute, 7 July 2016,

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edexcellence.net/publications/
evaluation-of-ohio%E2%80%99s-edchoice-scholarship-program-selection-competition-a
nd-performance. Accessed 31 Mar. 2017.
"Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)." US Department of Education, www.ed.gov/
essa?src=rn. Accessed 23 Mar. 2017.
"Here's What You Should Know about That Voucher Bill from Rep. Steve King."
Politics K-12, blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2017/03/
voucher_bill_steve_king_few_things_to_know.html. Accessed 31 Mar. 2017.
"King Introduces Choices in Education Act of 2017." Congressman Steve King,
steveking.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/
king-introduces-choices-in-education-act-of-2017. Accessed 31 Mar. 2017.
McKnight, Matthew. "False Choice: How Private School Vouchers Might Harm
Minority Students." Education, edited by Nol Merino, Farmington Hills, MI,
Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in
Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010129409/
OVIC?u=mcps_blair&xid=22db312c. Accessed 12 Feb. 2017. Originally published
in New Republic, 15 Apr. 2011.
"Michigan: The Poster Child for How Not to Do Charter Schools." The Huffington
Post, www.huffingtonpost.com/amber-arellano/
michigan-the-poster-child_b_9210754.html.
Miner, Barbara. "Vouchers Do Not Benefit Urban Students." Urban America, edited
by Laura K. Egendorf, San Diego, Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing
Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/
EJ3010399222/OVIC?u=mcps_blair&xid=dc2ece6c. Accessed 12 Feb. 2017.
Originally published as "Not the Ticket: Why Vouchers Undermine Public
Education" in Mothering, 2003.
"School Choice: Vouchers." National Conference of State Legislatures,
www.ncsl.org/research/education/school-choice-vouchers.aspx. Accessed 12
Feb. 2017."School Voucher Laws: State by State." National Conference of State Legislature,
www.ncsl.org/research/education/voucher-law-comparison.aspx. Accessed 12
Feb. 2017.

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"School Vouchers Overview." Maryland Public Television, www.pbs.org/now/society/

vouchers.html. Accessed 12 Feb. 2017.
"U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos' Prepared Remarks to the Brookings
Institution." US Department of Education, www.ed.gov/news/speeches/
us-secretary-education-betsy-devos-prepared-remarks-brookings-institution.
Accessed 31 Mar. 2017.
"Vouchers: An Initiative for School Reform?" Issues Challenging Education,
horizon.unc.edu/projects/issues/papers/Voucher.html. Accessed 31 Mar. 2017.
Will School Vouchers Benefit Low-Income Families? Assessing the Evidence."
Texas Center for Education Policy, www.edb.utexas.edu/tcep/resources/
TCEP%20Graduate%20Seminar%20DRAFT%20Vouchers%20Memo.pdf. Accessed 1 Apr.
2017.
"Wisconsins black-white achievement gap worst in nation despite decades of
efforts." Wisconsin Watch, wisconsinwatch.org/2015/12/
wisconsin's-black-white-achievement-gap-worst-in-nation/. Accessed 27 Mar.
2017.

Annotated Bibliography

Antunez, Beth. Telephone interview. 30 Mar. 2017.

I interviewed Beth Antunez, a member of the American Federation of Teachers
government relations board. I asked her about the Choices in Education Act of 2017 and the
solutions to making schools give equal levels of education. I will use the interview for quotes.

"Betsy DeVos Accountability Problem." The Atlantic,

www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/01/betsy-devoss-accountability-problem/513047/.
Accessed 23 Mar. 2017.
This article provides information on Betsy Devos' views on education. It focuses on her
support of the failing Michigan school voucher program. It is useful because it uses direct quotes
from people with opposing views, and it provides evidence of how the schools are doing. I will
be able to use this to get a perspective on the Michigan voucher program, and I can get quotes for
the evidence on the failing schools.

-"Evaluation of Ohios EdChoice Scholarship Program: Selection, Competition, and Performance

Effects." Thomas B. Fordham Institute, 7 July 2016, edexcellence.net/publications/evaluation-of-

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ohio%E2%80%99s-edchoice-scholarship-program-selection-competition-and-performance.
Accessed 31 Mar. 2017.
This article provides information on the goals and methods of the Ohio Edchoice
program. It also provides a brief description on the progress. I can use this for support for my
argument, as quotes when I argue that there are little changes in student performance, and that
the higher income families tend to choose to use them.

-"Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)." US Department of Education, www.ed.gov/essa?src=rn.

Accessed 23 Mar. 2017.
This article described the previous efforts of the government with the Every Student Succeeds
Act.

-"Here's What You Should Know about That Voucher Bill from Rep. Steve King." Politics K-12,
blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-
12/2017/03/voucher_bill_steve_king_few_things_to_know.html. Accessed 31 Mar. 2017.
This article provides a brief description of the Choices in Education Act of 2017. It
describes its goals, but it also states all of its problems and reasons that it might not get passed. I
can use this article for quotes on the problems with the bill.

-"King Introduces Choices in Education Act of 2017." Congressman Steve King,

steveking.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/king-introduces-choices-in-education-act-of-
2017. Accessed 31 Mar. 2017.
This article is part of Representative Steve King's website, and so it is very biased. It
fully describes the Choices in Education Act of 2017, and it provides information on what the
government wants to do to localize our education system. I can use it for quotes on my counter
argument, and for more information.

- McKnight, Matthew. "False Choice: How Private School Vouchers Might Harm Minority
Students." Education, edited by Nol Merino, Farmington Hills, MI, Greenhaven Press, 2014.
Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,
link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010129409/OVIC?u=mcps_blair&xid=22db312c. Accessed 12
Feb. 2017. Originally published in New Republic, 15 Apr. 2011.
This source was written well and effectively narrows the problem in the education system
down to vouchers. It is based around the discrimination and problems the minorities can face
when they enter the usually all-white schools. It uses specific studies to defend the claim. It also
goes into depth about DCs voucher system and the way it works. I will use this for my
knowledge of the DC system, and for the statistics from the research study done.

-"Michigan: The Poster Child for How Not to Do Charter Schools." The Huffington Post,
www.huffingtonpost.com/amber-arellano/michigan-the-poster-child_b_9210754.html.

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This article provides information on the problems of the Michigan Voucher Program. It
goes into depth with their accountability problem, and their underperforming scores. I will use
quotes from this to support my achievement gap claim.

Miner, Barbara. "Vouchers Do Not Benefit Urban Students." Urban America, edited by Laura K.
Egendorf, San Diego, Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in
Context,link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010399222/OVIC?u=mcps_blair&xid=dc2ece6c.
Accessed 12 Feb. 2017. Originally published as "Not the Ticket: Why Vouchers Undermine
Public Education" in Mothering, 2003.
This article has a more in depth focus on the segregation and accountability of the
voucher schools in Milwaukee and Cleveland. It has an overview on some of the clear, negative
outcomes of the voucher system. Also, it has many quotes from parents fighting against the
program because of the lack of accountability and democracy. I will use this to show the
outcomes of vouchers, and for parent quotes.

"School Choice: Vouchers." National Conference of State Legislatures,

www.ncsl.org/research/education/school-choice-vouchers.aspx. Accessed 12
Feb. 2017.
This article is a great overview of both sides of the argument and the history of the issue.
I will be using this for my problem-solution segment and for quotes on my argument.

"School Voucher Laws: State by State." National Conference of State Legislature,

www.ncsl.org/research/education/voucher-law-comparison.aspx. Accessed 12
Feb. 2017.
This article provides a simple outline of the voucher school programs for each state, with
a description of the budget and more. I plan to use this for background information and support
for my thesis.

"School Vouchers Overview." Maryland Public Television, www.pbs.org/now/society/

vouchers.html. Accessed 12 Feb. 2017.
This Article can be used for the history portion of my paper. It provides a timeline of the
most recent actions on vouchers.
"U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos' Prepared Remarks to the Brookings
Institution." US Department of Education, www.ed.gov/news/speeches/
us-secretary-education-betsy-devos-prepared-remarks-brookings-institution.
Accessed 31 Mar. 2017.

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This is the text from one of the speeches Betsy DeVos has given. It shows her support for
vouchers and her irrational reasoning for their expansion. I can use this for my counter argument.
"Vouchers: An Initiative for School Reform?" Issues Challenging Education,
horizon.unc.edu/projects/issues/papers/Voucher.html. Accessed 31 Mar. 2017.
This is an article with lots of information regarding the history of the voucher the reasons
for it, and then reasons why they don't work and will never work. It ends with predictions on
what might happen if the system continues. I can use this for quotes and specific information for
all parts of my paper.

"Will School Vouchers Benefit Low-Income Families? Assessing the Evidence."

Texas Center for Education Policy, www.edb.utexas.edu/tcep/resources/
TCEP%20Graduate%20Seminar%20DRAFT%20Vouchers%20Memo.pdf. Accessed 1 Apr.
2017.
This article provides a long analysis on vouchers and whether or not there should be a
federally funded program in Texas. It has a helpful chart analyzing the aspects of different
voucher programs. It says whether or not it as eligibility standards, and if the schools require
parents to pay extra fees. I will be able to use it to see which programs are the most excluding,
and use it for quotes on my arguments.

"Wisconsins black-white achievement gap worst in nation despite decades of

efforts." Wisconsin Watch, wisconsinwatch.org/2015/12/
wisconsin's-black-white-achievement-gap-worst-in-nation/. Accessed 27 Mar.
2017.
This article shows the problems with the huge achievement gap between white and black
students in Wisconsin. Although it doesn't mention vouchers as a problem or a solution, it
describes the extent of the problem, and there is no coincidence that that state has a huge voucher
system. I can use this for data on the achievement gap and the consequences of it.

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