#SCHOOLVOUCHERSCAMS
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 voucher scams by state and by 12 categories.
Lawmakers react to new data about expanded school voucher program
Data shows white students received the most vouchers, along with other disparities between the public school population and voucher recipients.
Mississippi towns say ‘no’ to school choice as state-level push continues
‘I know there’s no current bill on the table, but we wanted to get out in front of it and say we’re not for this as a concept.’ — Clinton Alderman Chip Wilbanks
Neighborhood schools are closing across Arizona. It’s because of vouchers.
Instead of investing in local public schools to meet students’ needs and ward off school closures to ensure equal access to quality neighborhood schools, Republican state lawmakers voted to force through universal ESA vouchers, which are now draining a massive $1 billion a year to instead pay for private, for-profit models that pick and choose students.
Georgia’s school voucher program isn’t good for separation of church and state
Preliminary data shows the state funds designated for the program are going to religious-affiliated schools. Of the top dozen private schools receiving funds, all but one is religiously affiliated, according to an analysis by the Georgia Recorder.
In Memphis, more private school vouchers going to affluent areas
A deeper dive into the data breaks down ZIP codes in the Memphis metro area. The numbers also show a disparity between those living in more marginalized communities versus those in more affluent.
Arkansas Educational Freedom Account program cost could top $326M, report finds
A Sept. 18 report to the Education Department obtained by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette through a Freedom of Information Act request lists the total amount of Educational Freedom Account funds to be awarded as $326,148,043.00. That amount well exceeds the $277.4 million in current general revenue funding for the accounts program.
Tennessee won’t track how many students with disabilities benefit from new voucher program
Tennessee isn’t tracking how many students with disabilities enroll in its new statewide education voucher program, the latest concern for education advocates who say the program needs to be more transparent.
Private Equity Is Set to Profit From New School Vouchers
The school voucher provision in Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill is expected to transfer billions of dollars to private schools and companies that contract with public school districts. That includes companies owned by private equity firms.
Idaho must reject the voucher scheme and recommit to strengthening public schools
Separate but equal is inherently unequal. No amount of mental gymnastics or rationalization will change this fact. Diverting public funds to selective private schools undermines the level playing field Brown vs. Board of Education established over 70 years ago. Idaho’s voucher scheme leads us down a road that will not rewrite history, but it will repeat it.
Stand For Schools Responds to Governor Pillen and Congressman Smith’s Announcement on Federal Voucher Program
Stand For Schools today responded to reports that Governor Jim Pillen, Congressman Adrian Smith, and Congressman Mike Flood will be announcing Nebraska’s decision to opt in to the federal school voucher program. The program, contained inside the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), was signed into law this summer.
Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission continues Christian Nationalist assault on public education
Americans United for Separation of Church and State President and CEO Rachel Laser issued the following statement in response to today’s Religious Liberty Commission hearing on religious freedom in public education:
Why Ohioans said private schools shouldn’t be funded with our money 174 years ago | Opinion
After nearly two centuries, Ohioans could well revisit a historic question: Should public funds be spent to support private schools?
More Tennessee school voucher data arrives after ongoing requests for transparency
The department isn’t tracking enrollment data, but a state review found that two-thirds of the families expected to get these funds are already enrolled in private schools.
Editorial: Legislature rewrote SC voucher law, but didn’t close the fraud loophole
It took until March for the problem to get any public attention, but that was still plenty of time for the Legislature to add some protections when it rewrote the voucher law and sent to the governor in May. It didn’t.
More questions than answers in voucher rollout
Gov. Bill Lee’s administration is touting the first year of its new Education Freedom Scholarship program as a resounding success, claiming all 20,000 available vouchers (valued at $7,300 each) were “reserved.” Yet the state’s own press release and subsequent data omissions have only fueled skepticism about who is really benefitting from Tennessee’s controversial universal voucher law.