Voucher Programs

A voucher is a coupon, typically worth the cost of tuition, for a student to attend a different school. Often, voucher programs allow students to attend private or parochial schools. Vouchers are a school choice mechanism that enables public funds to flow to private, often religious, schools. Because vouchers [Page 840]reallocate tax dollars, legislation is necessary to make vouchers available. By 2009, 14 states and the District of Columbia had voucher laws; however, of the approximately 60 million children in the United States between the ages of 4 and 18, fewer than 100,000 receive vouchers.