A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Public Schools, Democracy, and Free Enterprise

"A general diffusion of knowledge being essential to the preservation of the liberties and rights of the people, it shall be the duty of the Legislature of the State to establish and make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools." (Texas)

"The General Assembly shall provide for a system of free public elementary and secondary schools for all children of school age throughout the Commonwealth, and shall seek to ensure that an educational program of high quality is established and continually maintained." (Virginia)

"It is the goal of the people to establish a system of education which will develop the full educational potential of each person...The legislature shall provide a basic system of free quality public elementary and secondary schools." (Montana)

Therein lies the power of the American system of education -- it is truly public. The "common school" -- the concept upon which our public school system was built -- teaches children important lessons about both the commonality and diversity of American culture. These lessons are conveyed not only through what is taught in the classroom, but by the very experience of attending school with a diverse mix of students. The common school has made quality public education and hard work the open door to American success and good citizenship and the American way to achievement and freedom.

Vouchers Threaten the Fundamental Mission of Public Education

• Divert attention from the need to improve the public schools. Providing private school vouchers for a few children will not help to improve the quality of education for most of America's children. Expanded choice in public schools through magnet schools and charter schools, coupled with a focus on the basics, increased parent involvement, improved teaching, and high standards for achievement and discipline, can do far more to improve the education of all children than private school vouchers for a few. The purpose of any school improvement idea should be to invite effective innovation in more schools, particularly those schools that are lagging behind.

• Add to the public cost of education. A voucher system would substantially increase the public cost of education by providing public funds to pay private school tuition for children who are already enrolled in private schools. If a voucher program open to all students were implemented today, it would cost American taxpayers over $15 billion to pay the tuitions of the 5 million students already enrolled in private schools.⁽¹⁾ This enormous cost would drain resources from public schools at the same time that billions of dollars are needed just to accommodate the 1.9 million additional students projected to be enrolled in public schools in 2007⁽²⁾ [NCES, The Condition of Education, 1997].

• Reduce accountability.Vouchers could create a situation at the elementary/secondary school level analogous to that at the postsecondary level; in the last four years, 700 for-profit schools in our nation's higher education system were removed from the federal loan program by the U.S. Department of Education because of their misuse of federal tax dollars. Private schools operate outside of the scope of public authority, and therefore have no public accountability for providing a quality education to all students.

• Force private and parochial schools to become less private and less parochial. If a systemwide voucher program were adopted, the influx of public dollars into these unregulated schools would result in increased pressure for greater public scrutiny and accountability for these public expenditures. Quality private and parochial schools are valuable parts of the educational variety in our democracy, and these pressures would ultimately interfere with their unique missions and curricula.

• Possibly violate State and U.S. Constitutions. Using public tax dollars to pay tuition at religious schools could violate the constitutional separation of church and state. Indeed, publicly funded voucher programs in Milwaukee and Cleveland have been legally challenged for their inclusion of religious schools in their programs, as judges in both Wisconsin and Ohio have ruled that the participation of religious schools violates federal and state constitutional provisions barring government aid to religious institutions. Voucher program advocates in both states have consistently appealed these decisions to higher courts, but no court has yet to overturn this basic ruling.