Only have skimmed, but there's decent stuff here. I spend only a day on this for my students and make them do a project, but maybe there should be more time committed. Neither system is inherently perfect, and the devil would be in the details. My conclusion (and sorry for skipping the "show your work" part) is that it would help some kids more, while sacrificing equity. How that interacts with the Texas Constitution would have been an interesting thing to research 20 years ago, but not with the current Texas Supreme Court. I think it's possible to implement it better for Texas than it has gone in Arizona or Ohio, hopefully, lol. I mean, the data is already there, so if you're going to do it, try to do it in the least bad way. That stated, the numerous charter school expansions coupled with exemptions for failing charter campuses doesn't give me much trust in the TEA, SBOE, and other education rule makers in Texas. People who are fighting against this are fighting a losing battle, imo. It's not about whether or not it'll happen, but about who gets it, how much, and how to controls costs while not completely incapacitating some schools. I'm not going full conspiracy theory here with the "destroy public school and replace it with Christian schools" argument, but I do want to see better safeguards for this Texas program and expansion caps. I do have sympathy for those wanting the voucher system who have kids in failing schools - they're being fed a lot of lies, but the current system is messed up too.
@Os Trigonum, we briefly discussed this in the other thread. According to EdChoice, NY has charter schools but not vouchers (to attend private schools). https://www.edchoice.org/school-choice/state/new-york/ School Choice in New York New York provides K–12 students and their families some types of school choice, including charter schools, magnet schools, home schooling and inter-district public school choice via open enrollment. New York does not have a private school choice program.
Conservatives Go to War — Against Each Other — Over School Vouchers https://www.propublica.org/article/rural-republicans-school-vouchers-education-choice
Ohio spent nearly $1B on private school vouchers. Who did they benefit? Voucher spending increase mainly went to students already in private schools. Dayton Daily News By Eileen McClory June 7, 2024 The state of Ohio awarded $993.7 million for families to send kids to private schools last school year, and the number has not yet been finalized. This is $383.7 million more than the year before and over $30 million more than legislative analysists predicted when lawmakers expanded the voucher program last year. Lawmakers said universal access to the EdChoice expansion program would give more families access to a private school education. But a Dayton Daily News analysis of Ohio Department of Education data found so far, it’s largely subsidizing families already sending their kids to private schools. The number of income-based EdChoice vouchers used in private schools in six area counties — Montgomery, Miami, Greene, Warren, Butler and Clark — jumped from 3,058 in the 2022-2023 school year to 12,637 last year. But while voucher usage grew by 313%, enrollment at schools that accept vouchers grew by only 3.7%, to 20,142 students. In some area schools, enrollment dropped even as voucher usage grew by hundreds of students. The Cincinnati Archdiocese, the largest provider of private schools in the region, says an increase in enrollment from EdChoice expansion is more likely this year because last year most parents would have already decided where to send kids to school before any changes to eligibility were made. In addition to lessening the burden of tuition for people sending their kids to private schools, voucher advocates say the expanded voucher program gives more people choice, which is a good thing regardless of how many people use it. And it does help some who otherwise may not be able to afford private school. Nicole Zeiders had two children in West Carrollton schools. She said there was nothing bad about the district, but switched her 10-and 14-year-old sons to Bishop Leibold School in Miami Twp. for more opportunities and smaller class sizes. She said her younger son would not have been able to attend the school without the EdChoice Expansion scholarship. “It enabled us to send him there,” Zeiders said. “I don’t know if we would have been able to afford it otherwise. I mean maybe, but we would have had to make a lot of changes.” But critics say the program redistributes taxpayer dollars to families who don’t need it so they can subsidize religious education. “What’s happening here is that taxpayers are subsidizing a more wealthy crowd with tax money for vouchers,” said William Phillis is the executive director of the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy for School Funding, which is currently suing the state over school vouchers. The lawsuit says that under Ohio’s constitution, state funding going to private schools is not legal. Continued...
Vouchers suck because of what has been mentioned but I do think there needs to be better options for kids that are getting screwed over by poorly performing schools in their district. A way for kids to go to other schools outside their district or charter schools.
I'm cool with Charter schools. I don't think they should be used for private schools or religious schools. F that.
Vouchers are like paying for rich people to play for Free on Private golf courses.....using our tax dollars. DD
approved non-public schools have been a thing for a long time in the special needs world. in many districts around the country, if the district can't provide the support your child needs, you can send them to a private school, and the district covers the cost and transportation. why should it be any different for typically developing kids?
The fact that Abbott received the largest single campaign donation in Texas history from an out-of-state billionaire and top proponent of vouchers makes it clear that money and power are playing a major role in the push for vouchers, and that the governor’s personal agenda is overshadowing what is best for our students and our public schools. The check came from Jeff Yass, a national Republican megadonor whose priority issues include school vouchers. $6 million campaign contribution they called the calling the “largest single donation in Texas history.” https://www.texasaft.org/policy/pri...uchers-abbotts-out-of-state-fundraising-haul/
Stealing from the Poor and giving to the Rich Most Counties don't even have Private Schools at all Rocket River
You can sell anything to white people and their representatives as long as you couch it in racism "We can get you away from the brown people!!" - When they selling it "We never said we would get you away from them . .. we would only give you an opportunity and you have to pay alot for it. Something that 90% of the people cannot afford." - Once its passed Rocket River
