Vouchers

Origins and Development of Vouchers in School Choice

One of the earliest advocates for school choice was the economist Milton Friedman, who introduced the idea in the mid-1950s. Friedman postulated that vouchers would promote competition and thereby improve schools. Many looked favorably upon his concept, but political support was lacking despite the fact that some of the most significant think tanks in the United States (e.g., the Brookings Institution) focused on the expansion of choice options for students in underperforming school districts.

Since Friedman's suggestion in 1955, there have been many attempts to define and apply vouchers as an educational possibility or as a way to permit school choice. As a result, multiple interpretations exist. The concept of vouchers can be difficult to grasp due to varying philosophical orientations and diverse political/social/economic ramifications. For example, Terry Moe and John Chubb connect politics and markets to school choice. Milton and Rose Friedman believe and posit that schooling, even in the inner cities, does not have to be the way it is (i.e., far too many failing schools and ineffective teachers). They argued that it was not that way when parents had greater control of the children's education. Voucher advocates often assert that nonpublic schools are generally superior to public schools.

The idea of school choice has been around for some time, although it had been often described in earlier usages in terms of school vouchers or a voucher plan. In this sense, the basic ideas behind vouchers and school choice are quite similar. Both plans seek to allow parents to apply their individual share of public school funds to the cost of any school, private or public, for their children; that is, the parent or student chooses the school to attend. In effect, this equates to a redistribution scheme of some tax money assigned to a public education entity within a state to students in private schools.

Supporters of school choice offer both economic and educational rationales for vouchers. Following the notions advanced earlier by Milton and Rose Friedman, school choice plans institutionalize the essentials of a free market system in education. Similar to business endeavors, this policy permits supply and demand forces to determine both successful and unsuccessful schools. Public education, when viewed as a monopoly and not truly subject to the laws of supply and demand, permits poor schools to continue operating even if and when they fail their students.

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