Our Voucher School Scam$ page, which we began in September of 2023 in response to the recent flood of irresponsible universal voucher programs includes a sorting feature that allows you to search charter scandals by state and by 12 categories. You can also search by keyword. Just use the ‘X’ to clear search terms and return to the full list of scandals.

03/30/2024 - Letter: No good reason to support Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s school voucher plan

This proposal creates an entitlement for the wealthy. It is a fact (based on decades of research) that 70% to 80% of parents who apply for vouchers were always planning to send their children to private schools! Even worse, this proposal is fiscally irresponsible. About 155,000 Tennessee students are enrolled in private schools. If you do the math, you are quickly approaching a billion dollars in new expenditures each year.

03/29/2024 - School vouchers are big in Arizona and Florida, but Tennessee should not follow suit

This means public schools are underfunded in service of private school vouchers. Rural students and low-income families have fewer quality choices, while richer suburban families use vouchers as a coupon for the private education they were already paying for. And it means billion-dollar price tags for taxpayers, with no accountability, no transparency, and no return on investment.

03/29/2024 - Miami-Dade district’s budget suffers amid voucher expansion

As Miami-Dade County Public Schools begins its budget discussions for the 2024–25 school year, the policy impacts of the 2023 law that expanded school choice for all Florida students are finally coming into play.

03/28/2024 - The Case Against School Vouchers on Steroids: Governor Cooper Outlines Threats Extreme GOP Plan Poses to Public Schools and Students Across North Carolina

Following his declaration of 2024 as the Year of Public Schools, Governor Roy Cooper is illustrating the risks the extreme Republican voucher plan poses to children and public schools, where more than 8 in 10 North Carolina children attend school .

03/27/2024 - The false promise — and hidden costs — of school vouchers

As I testified to Pennsylvania lawmakers last fall, however, vouchers are the education equivalent of predatory lending. One promise that never holds up is the idea that states can afford to create voucher systems that underwrite private tuition for some children, while still keeping public school spending strong.

03/25/2024 - Georgia’s $141M school voucher program likely mere down payment on what’s to come

Instead, the campaign is being driven by a relative handful of extremely rich, extremely ideological campaign donors around the country. Their message has been clear in every state that has adopted vouchers: If you want their campaign money, you must do their bidding. And Gov. Brian Kemp wants their campaign money.

03/25/2024 - Private school vouchers: Scholarships blow past estimates as state spending nears $1 billion

State spending on private school scholarships has exceeded estimates by over $15 million and is inching toward the $1 billion mark. As of March 18, state spending on all five scholarship programs was $980.4 million, with several months yet to go in the state’s fiscal year. That figure is expected to increase, as the state is accepting applications for vouchers through the end of June.

03/24/2024 - Brack: Lame-brained voucher program puts public schools at risk

This week on a party-line vote, all but two House Republicans voted to pass a measure that would expand an unproven pilot program for up to 15,000 scholarships worth $6,000 each in public money to fund private school education. That $90 million scheme hasn’t even passed constitutional muster yet, but the hellbent House went ahead and expanded the program to open it up dramatically, potentially ripping a $1.4 billion hole into the state budget. Where do you think that money is going to come from? Public education.

03/24/2024 - Ackerman: Vouchers ‘blatant attack’ on public schools

“It’s not about helping families who couldn’t otherwise afford private education,” Ackerman said, adding: “Public school taxpayer money is picking up the tuition cost for students who are already attending private schools and for students whose parents have proven they have the means to pay.”

03/21/2024 - Dark money group goes after GOP House member for opposition to Tennessee school voucher plan

The Tennessee affiliate of the American Federation for Children (AFC) sent a targeted text message last week attacking Rep. Todd Warner, R-Chapel Hill, for opposing vouchers. The advertisements call out Warner for “siding with the radical Tennessee 3 against Tennessee parents” and for what AFC sees as opposition to “parental rights,” limiting health benefits for teachers and blocking millions in funding for local schools. The AFC’s text message never mentioned the word voucher but the broad term “school choice.” Instead, it ties Warner’s opposition to the bill to also opposing the legislation’s incentives for public schools and teachers.

03/21/2024 - Ohio’s Multi-Million $$$$ Voucher Scam

Laura Hancock wrote at Cleveland.com about the expansion of Ohio’s voucher program. The state now offers a voucher to everyone, but most vouchers are claimed by students who never attended public schools.

03/21/2024 - Ohio: The Facts are In. Vouchers Should Not Subsidize the Affluent

The editorial board of Cleveland.com and the Plain-Dealer were taken aback by the facts reported about vouchers by their reporter Laura Hancock (posted in previous time slot). The Ohio legislature expanded vouchers so almost every family is eligible, even if they never sent their child to public school.