School Vouchers

School vouchers are government-funded tuition certificates that parents can use to fund their children's attendance at private educational institutions. Considerable debate surrounds the use of public funds for education in private institutions. A key issue of debate involves the effectiveness of school voucher programs for students, primarily students from disad-vantaged backgrounds. Another major debate issue is whether the use of public funds for religious private institutions violates the principle of separation of church and state.

Economist Milton Friedman is credited as one of the key originators of the concept of school vouchers. The idea emerged from negative views on governmental intervention in the realm of education and the desire to empower people who use the education system. Friedman believed that a free market approach, which allowed competition from private markets, would increase both school quality and citizens' access to quality schooling. While Friedman proposed the school voucher system in the 1950s, general satisfaction with the education system stifled advancement of his idea. Increasing dissatisfaction with public education during recent decades, however, influenced the creation of such programs. While the discourse surrounding school vouchers is plentiful, the number of voucher programs is relatively small, particularly when compared to other reform programs such as [Page 811]charter schools and homeschooling. Most current U.S. voucher programs target poor or disadvantaged families.

General support for school vouchers rests on principles of choice and free market forces that create competition between private and public school institutions to improve student outcomes and empower disadvantaged families. One of the principal claims of supporters is that private education provides superior educational outcomes for students in the form of increased grade point averages, graduation rates, and standardized test scores. These improved outcomes therefore greatly benefit disadvantaged families as they gain wider access to educational opportunities.

Voucher supporters are in general agreement about the failure of the current public education system, as illustrated by the introduction of the 2006 America's Opportunity Scholarship for Kids legislation to Congress. This legislation, which ultimately did not pass, sought to allow children in schools consistently failing to meet requirements to receive funds toward private education. Many voucher supporters believe problems with the current public school system stem from governmental and bureaucratic conflicts that ultimately limit the ability of teachers and administrators to create proficient programs. Supporters feel that the current educational system has fundamental flaws not likely to be changed through traditional reform programs. They feel that the only way any significant positive change of the education system will occur is through a radical shift in both thinking and organization.

For proponents, school vouchers represent the concepts of choice and freedom for families, allowing parents to pick schools that will potentially provide better opportunities and outcomes for their children. Parents can thus choose a school with sufficient resources, a strong organizational structure, engaged teachers, and smaller class sizes. In addition, supporters claim that vouchers empower parents to choose schools that more closely match their own values. These values may include the choice of a religious school that mirrors their moral values or, say, a school that emphasizes fine arts education. Ultimately supporters argue that the freedom to choose will greatly empower disadvantaged populations by allowing them to leave underperforming schools. Proponents believe that a school voucher system will equalize the playing field for families that do not have access to private education.

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