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Negative effects of school vouchers

Additionally, since school vouchers are funded by the government, the implementation could cause the funds for public schools to be reduced. Private-school vouchers affect government budgets through two channels: additional direct voucher expenditures, and public-school cost savings from lower enrollments . Voucher programs would be paid for by the government’s education budget, which would be subtracted from the public school’s budget. This might affect the public-school system by giving them less to spend and use for their student’s education.

School voucher public policy in the United States

As of December 2016, 14 states had traditional school voucher programs . These states consist of: Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah, Vermont, Wisconsin, Maryland, and Florida. The capital of the United States, Washington, D.C., also had operating school voucher programs as of December 2016 .

Proponents

EdChoice also argues that education funding should belong to children, not a specific school type or building . Their purpose for the argument is to try to argue that people should prioritize a student’s education and their opportunity over making a specific type of school better. They also emphasize that if a family chooses a public school, the funds also go to that school . This would mean that it would also benefit those who value the public education system.

Opponents

The National Education Association additionally argues that more money should go towards the Public Education to help the schools struggling and improve the schools overall, instead of reducing the public school’s fund to go towards school vouchers . Their argument claims that increasing that amount of money that goes towards public education would also increase the amount of resources put into public schools, therefore, improving the education . This argument made towards school vouchers reflect the way the organization values public education. For example, in an interview in May 2017 regarding Donald Trump's 2018 Budget Proposal, the organization's president, Lily Eskelsen García, claimed:

“We should invest in what makes schools great, the things that build curiosity and instill a love of learning. That is what every student deserves and what every parent wants for his or her child. It should not depend on how much their parents make, what language they speak at home, and certainly, not what neighborhood they live in.” -National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen García.

Furthermore, there are multiple studies that support the arguments made by opponents of school vouchers. One of these studies, conducted by the Tulane University’s Education Research Alliance, consists of observing the relationship between voucher programs and student’s test scores. They found that students in the Louisiana voucher program initially had lower test scores, but after three years, their scores matched those of students who stayed in public schools from standardized test scores spanning from 2012 to 2015 .

Political support

Trump's 2018 FY 2018 Budget

Republican Donald Trump proposed a 2018 budget that includes $250 million for voucher initiatives, which are state-funded programs that pay for students to go to private school . This 2018 budget served the purpose of, “Expanding school choice, ensuring more children have an equal opportunity to receive a great education, maintaining strong support for the Nation’s most vulnerable students, simplifying funding for post secondary education, continuing to build evidence around educational innovation, and eliminating or reducing Department programs consistent with the limited Federal role in education” . The Budget reduces more than 30 programs that duplicate other programs, which are ineffective; or are more appropriately supported with State, local, or private funds . Another $1 billion is set aside for encouraging schools to adopt school choice-friendly policies .

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos

Betsy DeVos, Trump’s education secretary, is also an advocate for voucher programs, and has argued that they would lead to better educational outcomes for students . Both Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos want to propose cutting the Education Department’s budget by about $3.6 billion and spend more than $1 billion on private school vouchers and other school choice plans .

DeVos makes a statement regarding the purpose and importance of the budget. DeVos claims:

“This budget makes an historic investment in America’s students. President Trump is committed to ensuring the Department focuses on returning decision-making power back to the States, where it belongs, and on giving parents more control over their child’s education. By refocusing the Department’s funding priorities on supporting students, we can usher in a new era of creativity and ingenuity and lay a new foundation for American greatness.” — Betsy DeVos, U.S. Secretary of Education

For more information on Trump’s 2018 proposal, see full document here [1]