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The real cost of vouchers

Measures like Amendment 80 are gutting budgets in other states.

  • States like New Hampshire, Arizona, Ohio, and North Carolina have passed similar measures and all four states are paying significantly more than they anticipated paying.¹

  • Many students who would’ve attended (and been able to afford) private schools anyways end up using the voucher system. In Arizona, 80% of students getting vouchers were already in private schools, 89% in New Hampshire and 75% in Wisconsin.²

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Private schools are exclusionary and could use state funding to exclude students

Vouchers fund discrimination with taxpayer dollars.

 -- National Coalition for Public Education study ³

  • Many schools charge prohibitively expensive fees on top of the tuition that vouchers would help cover.

  • Private schools can raise tuition – above what vouchers will cover – stranding children who were enrolled at the lower tuition but cannot afford the higher tuition.

  • Private schools pick and choose who attends and can reject students for reasons like:

[...] children with a severe learning disability will not be admitted

–- Liberty Classical Academy; New Castle, Colorado

[...] marriage has one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in single, exclusive union; any form of sexual immorality is sinful and offensive to God; those employed must agree to abide by this.

–- Augustine Classical Academy; Lakewood, Colorado

[...] admission open only to those who adhere to traditional Christian and orthodox beliefs….sign…subscribe statement of faith: include marriage is one-man one-woman…and all forms of sexual activity outside marriage are sin.

–- Arma Dei Academy; Highlands Ranch, Colorado

Vouchers are associated with worse educational outcomes for children

Students who used vouchers to attend private schools fared worse on state exams compared to their closely matched peers remaining in public schools.

-- Fordham Institute study ⁴

  • Studies in Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Washington D.C. showed no improvement for those in voucher programs in reading or math over their peers not in voucher programs.

  • In Louisiana, Indiana, and Ohio, students in voucher programs had markedly worse educational outcomes than their peers.

  • Studies have even shown that voucher programs can cause a worsening in educational outcomes that is on par with disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and COVID-19.⁵

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⁶

Vouchers often benefit children already in private schools

⁷

Sources

  1. Source: New Hampshire: Rayno, Garry. (2024, February 8). “Expansion of EFA Program Approved But Universal Eligibility Killed.”  InDepthNH. https://indepthnh.org/2024/02/08/expansion-of-efa-program-approved-but-universal-eligibility-killed/ Arizona: Gomez, Gloria Rebecca. (2023, June 1). “Arizona school voucher program growth explodes to over $900 million for the upcoming school year.”  AZ Mirror. https://azmirror.com/2023/06/01/arizona-school-voucher-program-growth-explodes-to-900-million-for-the-upcoming-school-year/ Ohio: If all applicants are approved. Balmert, Jessie. (2024, February 12). “As Ohio’s private school vouchers swell, who is benefitting?” Cincinnati Enquirer. https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2024/02/11/ohios-edchoice-school-vouchers-swell-after-eligibility-expansion/72420749007/ North Carolina: Public Funds, Public Schools. (2023, September 19)  “The True Cost of Private School Voucher Programs.”  https://pfps.org/assets/uploads/Voucher_Cost_Fact_Sheet_Final.pdf

  2. Source: National Coalition for Public Education study “Opposing Private School Vouchers: A Toolkit for Legislators and Advocates,” February 2023

  3. Source: National Coalition for Public Education study “Opposing Private School Vouchers: A Toolkit for Legislators and Advocates,” February 2023

  4. Source: Thomas B. Fordham Institute study, “Evaluation of Ohio’s EdChoice Scholarship Program Selection: Selection, Competition, and Performance Effects,” July 2016

  5. Source: National Coalition for Public Education study “Opposing Private School Vouchers: A Toolkit for Legislators and Advocates,” February 2023

  6. Source: National Coalition for Public Education study “Opposing Private School Vouchers: A Toolkit for Legislators and Advocates,” February 2023

  7.  Source: National Coalition for Public Education study “Opposing Private School Vouchers: A Toolkit for Legislators and Advocates,” February 2023

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