Tohmeh 1

Annas Tohmeh
Cindy Rogers
English 12
October 17, 2014
School Vouchers
The topic of school vouchers has become intensely heated and controversial in the United
States. Both the opponents and proponents have been battling over whether or not there should
be any school vouchers issued in the United States. Emerging from this heated and controversial
debate are parents who want to reserve the right to choose where their children go to school,
without being worried by their economic status. However, there are other parents that worry that
providing government aid is unfair to the ones that must pay themselves, which raises concern
over who should qualify for this program. Opponents of vouchers cite the endless disadvantages
that this program brings about, such as unconstitutionality; while proponents cite the endless
advantages that can come out of this program. One thing is for sure, that this topic will almost
certainly remain controversial and widely debated. This fierce issue begins with the question of
which families should receive the vouchers, what are the advantages and disadvantages of school
vouchers, and whether or not vouchers cross the line between the separation of church and state.
Understanding both sides of the argument of whether vouchers should be present in the
United States requires fundamental understanding of what school vouchers actually are. School
vouchers are scholarships that are issued to certain students who want to attend a private school
instead of a public school. Most school vouchers are funded by the state. For vouchers to be
accepted, a private school must meet minimum eligibility requirements for the state the private
school is located in. How do these vouchers work? Vouchers are used for providing students

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with an alternative to public schools. These vouchers help pay the fees that a private school
would require. Families that receive vouchers are able to use it on any private school that they
would like, as long as it meets the minimum requirements that are set by the state (Kolbert 3). A
basic understanding of how these vouchers are used only scratches the surface of the bigger
picture. There is still the information about who is actually eligible to receive these school
vouchers.
There are various requirements or prerequisites in order for people to receive school
vouchers. However, these requirements are not always the same, and they can vary from state to
state. Generally, school vouchers are given out to low income families who are looking for an
alternative to public schools. This is because low income families do not usually have any extra
money to pay for private schools. Vouchers are also sometimes given out to students with
disabilities. Rural families can also be given school vouchers. This is mainly because public
schools are not always present in rural areas (School Vouchers). Concerns of whether students
are able to qualify for school vouchers are just the beginning, because not all states provide
funding for these types of programs.
In addition to the requirements varying from state to state, there are only a handful of
states that actually distribute and provide funding for school vouchers. These states have some of
the same requirements to receive a voucher, but many have unique prerequisites. For example,
some states require a student to have formerly attended a public school, while others do not. The
states that provide funding for vouchers include Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana,
Maine, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah, Vermont, and Wisconsin. This
leaves the majority of states not funding school vouchers. For the states that do provide school
vouchers, most do not have a cap on the amount of tuition that can be received through a

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voucher. However, there are still some states that do have a maximum capacity. For instance,
Indiana has a maximum capacity of $15,000 (School Voucher Laws). The states that provide
funding for school vouchers are only a select few. As a result, for some people, this is extremely
worrisome and concerning, while for others, it is quite the opposite.
For proponents of school vouchers, the advantages and possibilities seem endless. There
are advantages that are found in the voucher system, and many people like and support the idea
of vouchers. In an interview with Paul Peterson, the director of the Program on Education Policy
and Governance, he said that many parents want to have a choice as to where their children go to
school. With vouchers around, parents can clearly make their own decision, and many people
believe that they should have a choice in the matter (The Case for Vouchers). This is one
distinct advantage that people say comes with vouchers. Another advantage that supporters say
can be brought about from school vouchers is a higher graduation rate for students who received
vouchers than for students who did not receive vouchers. This was supported by a study that was
conducted in Washington D.C., and it did indeed show that there was a higher graduation rate for
students who received the vouchers (Wolf).

Fig.1. School Vouchers Produce Better Results

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Additionally, supporters say that students who received vouchers have increased test scores.
Furthermore, many people believe that public schools are not satisfactory, and do not provide
enough of a learning experience, which is why many low-income families support school
vouchers. This leads to the next advantage of having a school voucher. This advantage is that
having access to vouchers allows parents to have access to desirable learning environments
found in private schools. Ronald G. Corwin described in his book, The School Choice Hoax, that
low-income parents "are attracted by the small size of schools in the private sector, which allows
them to have more personal contact with each child" (Corwin 5). Also, many people believe that
another important advantage brought about through vouchers is the competition that arises
between schools. Increased competition between private schools and public schools motivates
every school to improve their education program (Vouchers). In a study done in Florida, the
effects of competition were noticed within a year.

Fig.2. Public Schools Get Better

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If public schools do not receive any competition, then they do not have any reason to improve
the quality of education. Without competition, the environment in a public school can be
degraded (Moe 17). Kathryn Kolbert stated in her book, School Vouchers, "Providing parents
with vouchers they can use at private schools provides a strong incentive for public schools to
improve; it forces competition for low-income students and the educational dollars they
command (Kolbert 15). For a large amount of people, creating competition in order to improve
schools is an incredibly valuable advantage. This goes along with all of the other advantages that
can come from vouchers. However, not everybody feels the same way; in fact, a lot of people
believe that there are more disadvantages than advantages from school vouchers.
The people that believe school vouchers have more disadvantages than advantages also
say that some of the advantages stated by supporters are false. For instance, many people say
students who have received vouchers had higher test scores, while others say that say that testing
scores turn out to be essentially the same. In an online article, it said that, Voucher opponents
say that any claims that voucher programs boost gains in student achievement are unfounded
(Vouchers). One side of the debate says it is true, and the other side says it is false. All of this
contradiction of information from both sides makes this widely discussed topic even more
controversial and heated, further separating both sides of the debate.
On the challenging side of the debate on school vouchers, a countless number of
disadvantages are cited. For example, there are many that say there are a lot risks to public
schools caused by school vouchers. One of these risks is the decreased enrollment numbers in
public schools. Also, another main disadvantage is that there could be a great decrease in the
amount of funds that go to public schools (BalancedPolitics.org). Many argue that public
schools are already not funded enough, and that vouchers worsen the situation. People also say

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that instead of healthy competition occurring between public and private schools, school
vouchers will only reduce funding and decrease the quality of public education. Author of School
Vouchers, Kathryn Kolbert, included this disadvantage in her book, saying that Spending tax
dollars on vouchers diverts money and support from financially strapped public schools,
hampering their ability to improve education for all children, including those with special
economic, physical, and academic needs" (Kolbert 13). Some even say that the quality of private
schools can also be reduced, because more students who receive vouchers might not be as gifted
as other students that would normally be attending private schools. This is just one of the
numerous major concerns for people that oppose the application of school vouchers. All of these
concerns about school vouchers eventually lead to the debate of whether school vouchers violate
the First Amendment.
The First Amendment states that, Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
government for a redress of grievances. In other words, the government cannot be biased
toward religion, thus creating a separation of church and state. As far as the legal aspect of the
debate on the use of vouchers is concerned, people worry that there is no separation between the
church and state. Many opponents of vouchers say that state funding of religiously run private
schools violates the separation of church and state. This makes the use of school vouchers
completely unconstitutional, and therefore the program should not be implemented in any state.
However, supporters for school vouchers argue that state funding does not violate the separation
between church and state, because families choose if they want to attend a religious or nonreligious private school. This means that the government is not the one that chooses to fund

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religious schools; thus making the use of school vouchers from state funding constitutional
(BalancedPolitics.org). It appears that the debate on whether the use of a school voucher is
constitutional will never cease to end.
The school voucher controversy will continue to be a major issue in the United States.
The question of who should receive the vouchers, what are the advantages and disadvantages of
funding the program, along with whether or not these vouchers violate the First Amendment will
continue to be a fiercely debated issue. Many parents say that they would like the freedom to
choose between a private school and a public school, and that because they are low-income they
need support from the government in order to have a choice. Having a choice could very well
increase the quality of education that students can receive. Many also believe that public schools
are not satisfactory, and that low-income families should have the opportunity to put their child
through private education, which is by many considered better than public education. The quality
of a public education could also be improved through good competition between private and
public schools, created by the distribution of school vouchers. There are still a lot of people who
do not believe school vouchers to be advantageous at all. In fact, these people say that vouchers
simply reduce the funding of a public school and that the quality of education can greatly
diminish. Decreased enrollment in public schools can also greatly reduce funding. Opponents
also say that not only can a public school lose quality education, but that private schools can be
affected. There is also the argument that school vouchers violate the First Amendment, because
there could be government funding to a religious school. Many families argue that since they
make the decision of whether or not to use their vouchers on a religious school, it does not cross
the line between church and state; although there is still disagreement on this topic. There
appears to be an infinite amount of contradiction of information, making it even more difficult to

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resolve. Only a fraction of the states provide funding for school vouchers, and for this number to
increase or decrease will surely require more debating on a few important topics of school
vouchers. No matter how many may disagree about the funding of vouchers, there is no doubt
that many parents still believe that they are entitled to the best education possible for their child.

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Works Cited
Corwin, Ronald G., and Joe Schneider. The School Choice Hoax: Fixing America's Schools.
Westport, CT: Praeger, 2005. Print.
"D.C. Voucher Students: Higher Graduation Rates and Other Positive Outcomes." The Heritage
Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/07/dc-voucher-students-highergraduation-rates-and-other-positive-outcomes>.
"Does Competition Improve Public Schools? - Education Next." RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct.
2014. <http://educationnext.org/does-competition-improve-public-schools/>.
Hiltzik, Michael. "The Case against School Vouchers in One Blistering Court Ruling." Los
Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 22 Aug. 2014. Web. 17 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-all-thats-wrong-with-schoolvouchers-20140822-column.html>.
"Is Choice the Answer?" PBS. PBS. Web. 17 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/vouchers/choice/>.
Kolbert, Kathryn, and Zak Mettger. School Vouchers. New York: New, 2001. Print.
Moe, Terry M. Schools, Vouchers, and the American Public. Washington, D.C.: Brookings
Institution, 2001. Print.
Peterson, Paul E. "The Case for Vouchers." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/vouchers/choice/provouchers.html>.
Ravitch, Diane. Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to
America's Public Schools. New York: Knopf, 2013. Print.

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"School Vouchers." School Choice: Vouchers. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.ncsl.org/research/education/school-choice-vouchers.aspx>.
"School Voucher Laws: State-by-State Comparison." National Conference of State Legislatures.
Web. 17 Sept. 2014. <http://www.ncsl.org/research/education/voucher-lawcomparison.aspx>.
"Should Government Vouchers Be Given to Pay for Private Schools, Even If They're Religious
Schools?" BalancedPolitics.org. Web. 17 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.balancedpolitics.org/school_vouchers.htm>.
"University of Arkansas." Research Finds Vouchers Boost High School Graduation Rates. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2014. <http://newswire.uark.edu/articles/14329/research-findsvouchers-boost-high-school-graduation-rates>.
"Voucher." Education Commission of the States. Web. 17 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.ecs.org/html/issue.asp?issueid=22&subissueID=333>.
"Vouchers." - Education Week Research Center. 11 Aug. 2011. Web. 17 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/vouchers/>.
"Vouchers." National Education Association. Web. 17 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.nea.org/home/16378.htm>.