So, like, Josh Cowen, a professor at Michigan State University who’s been studying vouchers for over 20 years, totally thinks that if the government is funding private school tuition, it’s basically a voucher. He’s not a fan, just putting it out there.
This new federal thing they’re talking about would give people a tax credit if they donate to Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs). It’s like a dollar-for-dollar thing, which is apparently three times better than donating to other charities. Carl Davis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy is all like, “It’s totally favoring vouchers over everything else.”
The idea is that SGOs would use the donated money to give out scholarships for private school tuition, books, and even homeschooling costs. The bill has a cap of $5 billion for the next four years. It’s a complex plan using the tax code and SGOs because most voucher students go to religious schools, and direct government funding isn’t allowed for that. But the Supreme Court might be cool with this indirect funding.
Not really sure why this matters, but donors could even donate stock instead of cash. And get this, they wouldn’t have to pay capital gains taxes on any increase in the stock’s value. Plus, they’d still get that tax credit. Carl Davis thinks donors might actually make a profit from donating. Sounds like a win-win situation, right?
So, there’s this mom, Michelle Salazar, from central Florida who used a voucher to send her son to a private school because he was struggling in a public charter school. Apparently, he has dyslexia and ADHD, and the public school just wasn’t cutting it for him. With the state-funded voucher, she could afford to send him to a Christian school for children with special needs. Now he’s thriving and loving it there.
Families choose vouchers for all sorts of reasons, not just academics. Some parents are worried about bullying in public schools or want a safer environment for their kids. Robert Enlow from EdChoice says parents are choosing private schools because they want what’s best for their children. It’s all about finding the right fit, you know?
Private schools can be picky about who they admit, unlike public schools. They don’t have to follow the same rules when it comes to students with disabilities. Basically, private schools can say, “You’re not a good fit for us,” and that’s the end of it. Public schools, on the other hand, have to provide an appropriate education for students with disabilities. It’s like night and day.
The federal voucher wouldn’t just be for low-income families. Nope, it’s open to households earning up to 300% of the median gross income in their area. That’s pretty generous, if you ask me. Tommy Schultz from the American Federation for Children thinks every child should have the chance to go to the school of their choice. But some people are worried that this might end up subsidizing wealthy families who were already sending their kids to private schools.
Alright, let’s talk about test scores. Do vouchers actually improve student performance? Well, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. In the early days, when vouchers were targeted at lower-income students in struggling public schools, there were some positive results. But as the programs got bigger and more widespread, the benefits started to fade. In some places, students actually did worse after switching to a voucher school. Yikes.
But hey, even if test scores don’t go up, voucher students might have a better shot at graduating high school and even college. So, there’s that. The Urban Institute found that voucher students in Ohio were more likely to go to college and earn a bachelor’s degree compared to students who stayed in public schools. Not too shabby, right?
