Vouchers refer to a lump sum of money, in varying amounts, provided to parents for their children’s education. In some cases parents may choose a private school. It is also possible, however, to pay tuition to attend a traditional school district if you do not live within the geographic boundary of the attendance zone.

The majority of voucher programs are run by private organizations. However, public voucher programs are currently in place in a few states and cities. Notably, Washington DC, Milwaukee, and Cleveland, and the state of Florida all have public voucher programs running.

The basic economic principal of competition drives voucher programs. If parents are free to choose any school, all schools will be forced to compete for students, and therefore improve educational programs and focus on results. For this reason, many advocates support voucher programs with no limits on participation and enough money to pay full tuition. To date, however, most voucher programs have been limited to low-income parents, parents of children with disabilities, or parents of children considered at-risk. Many do not pay for the full cost of tuition.

On June 27, 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris of a publicly funded school choice program using vouchers in Ohio.

Milton Friedman, winner of the Nobel Laureate and a highly regarded economist, is credited as the first scholar to introduce school vouchers into the education policy arena. The site is a great resource for current news, research, and history. The Milton and Rose Friedman Foundation provides more information on the topic of school vouchers.

For more information on private scholarships in New York State visit: www.schoolchoiceny.com 

Research

Robert Enlow and Matt Ladner, PhD, “School Choice: Facts not Myths,” American Legislative Exchange Council.

US GAO, “School Vouchers: Characteristics of Privately Funded Programs,” September 2002.

William G. Howell, Patrick J. Wolf, Paul E. Peterson, & David E. Campbell

 

“Test-Score Effects of School Vouchers in Dayton, Ohio, New York City, and Washington, D. C.: Evidence from Randomized Field Trials,” Harvard Kennedy School of Government, The Program on Educational Policy and Governance, August 2000.
 

Jay P Greene, PhD, “Graduation Rates for Choice and Public School Students in Milwaukee,” School Choice Wisconsin, September 24, 2004

Links for more organizations researching vouchers:

The Harvard Kenney School of Government’s Program on Education Policy and Governance has published many voucher and choice studies. 

 

Another useful site is The Cato Institute, which also has published a variety of papers on the topic of vouchers.

 

The School Choice Demonstration Project at Georgetown University

Links for more information on public voucher programs:

School Choice Wisconsin

www.schoolchoiceinfo.org

 

Washington Scholarship Fund

http://www.dcscholarship.org/

 

Florida Department of Education

http://www.floridaschoolchoice.org/

  

Ohio EdChoice Pilot Program

http://www.ode.state.oh.us/School_Finance/ecs/default.asp