Ohio legislators are once again fighting attempts to add accountability to school choice. The editorial board of The Blade says that accountability must be part of a voucher system.
It would seem to be a no-brainer to require that schools receiving Ohio taxpayer-funded private school education vouchers must account for the use of that money.
That was the requirement of a bill making its way through the General Assembly. Except now it has been amended to remove the disclosure and testing requirements.
The Ohio House Primary and Secondary Education Committee eliminated some key provisions in House Bill 407, those requiring private schools to submit an annual report to be posted online, including how voucher funds were spent.
The committee also eliminated a requirement that scholarship students take the same state standardized tests that public school students take. In its first year, spending on scholarship vouchers — taxpayer-funded payments to private schools on behalf of children attending those schools — is close to $1 billion. Can the state justify making those expenditures without knowing for certain how the schools are using the money, or whether the children are learning?
At present, it’s reasonable to say yes, because of the history of private schools, which have a reputation for educational competence leading to high graduation rates and students going on to college. It is known that the schools have relatively few frills and pay their staff less than public school systems pay their staff.
Private, religious schools have been thrifty and low-budget out of necessity, with feelings of religious conviction often offsetting the low pay.
The reality of a new source of revenue changes the expectations for these schools.
They should have to show the public how the money is being spent, and there should be a requirement that student scores are reported. It’s a reasonable expectation and trade-off.
Taxpayers will not want tax funds to go to unregulated private schools that produce classes of students who earn low test scores.
