A New Federal Private School Voucher Scheme is Welfare for the Wealthy

Nevadans need an honest debate around this controversial policy.

If you recently came across The Nevada Independent’s article regarding the Trump Administration’s private school voucher policy, you may not have realized you were reading about a highly controversial and divisive federal initiative. The article failed to offer meaningful context around the scheme and often leans on talking points offered by national interest groups and the very private industries that stand to financially benefit.

In fact, the source that claimed the voucher program would be “life changing” is a right-wing lobbyist funded by Betsy Devos. These groups fought hard during the most recent legislative sessions to ensure organizations implementing Nevada’s current voucher program could hoard millions of taxpayer dollars rather than serve families.

Needless to say, we would like to set the record straight.

Vouchers come against the backdrop of this administration’s war on public schools. That is not a conspiracy or exaggeration; it is a fact. Recently, the administration attempted to freeze billions in promised federal aid to public schools, particularly impacting vulnerable children and their families. This important detail was treated as an aside in the NV Indy article, but this is a rather large crack in the foundation that supports the tens of millions of students that rely on public education.

National backlash and legal battles thwarted this attack and forced the unfreezing of funds for this summer, but make no mistake, this is just the beginning. Next year’s proposed federal budget aims to cut billions of dollars in funding for public schools. The attack on public education is not over – only delayed – while billions of dollars are diverted to private schools.

Federal vouchers will amount to welfare for the wealthy. Income eligibility requirements for the scheme mean that in Clark County, for example, a household making up to $284,000 per year would be eligible to receive a voucher for private school. That is more than three times the area’s average household income.

And to be clear, it is the well-off that primarily participate in voucher schemes. An analysis of the controversial (and later deemed unconstitutional) Education Savings Account voucher scheme in Nevada found that the majority of applicants came from the wealthiest neighborhoods. In Arizona, the wealthiest ten percent of the state’s population sought vouchers at a rate five times that of the poorest ten percent. This trend is the norm throughout the country.

And although the NV Indy article frames the federal voucher program as expanding access, data from multiple states have shown that the majority of voucher recipients already attended private schools before ever receiving a voucher. The entire scheme will operate as a reverse Robin Hood, taking federal funds that support vulnerable families and giving them to well-off families to attend private schools.

Private schools can continue to discriminate and deny access despite receiving taxpayer funds. An issue that goes totally unaddressed in the article is private schools’ unfettered ability to deny access, even when using public taxpayer dollars. Unlike public schools and charters, private schools can continue to deny or expel students for almost any reason. Scores not high enough? Worship under the wrong religion or no religion at all? Don’t want to deal with special needs? Just too much trouble? It’s not “school choice,” it’s the school’s choice.

One analysis of private school policies in Nevada found sanctioned discrimination against  LGBTQ students, students who did not follow a particular religious doctrine, and students with special needs. In fact some Nevada private schools require parents to sign a form waiving their disability rights.

And to be clear, when private schools are funded privately, it is within their right to make these decisions. However, when they begin using public taxpayer dollars, they should be held accountable for serving the public, not just who they choose. These types of discriminatory practices are prohibited in public schools.

Researchers have described the federal scheme as an unlimited tax shelter for the wealthy. Curiously, the article claims the program is not “directly funded through public money,” but that statement exhibits a fundamental misunderstanding of how tax credits work. Tax credits are public funds that would otherwise be collected to support public services. In this instance, these funds will be earmarked for private school vouchers. The article admits in the very next sentence that it will cost the federal government $3 to $4 billion per year. These are funds that could help vulnerable families, public schools, healthcare, or a myriad of other programs. Instead, it will be a tax shelter for the wealthy to divert funds to private schools.

The NV Indy also failed to dig deeper into the cost estimates. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy viewed government estimates with skepticism, noting “there is considerable uncertainty in these estimates and,[…] there is a real risk of a major cost overrun in this program.” ITEP’s report suggests costs could be as high as $25 billion or eventually more than $51 billion per year. There is no cap on the program, meaning the costs will very likely balloon over time.

Look no further than our neighbor, Arizona, where the annual cost for their tax credit voucher scheme went from a projected $65 million to eventually costing $734 million, throwing their state budget into a severe deficit.

These programs do not actually improve student outcomes. In an era where “accountability” and “transparency” are buzzwords thrown around at any mention of public education funding, they are curiously absent in discussions around private school vouchers. The article did not mention whether these voucher schemes actually do what they are expected to do – educate children. The lobbyist cited in the article had actually fought hard against academic accountability under the state’s current voucher scheme. Why? The results speak for themselves.

Studies in states like Ohio, Louisiana, D.C. and Indiana found that students who use a private school voucher actually end up performing worse on assessments as compared to their counterparts in public schools – especially in math. And in many cases achievement results did not improve over time, even after years.

In Nevada, private schools only reported proficiency data for 20% of Opportunity Scholarship voucher participants, despite being required to do so. And during the most recent legislative session, the voucher lobby fought hard to ensure the assessments did not directly align with those required of public school students. Why not welcome the comparison if vouchers work?

State voucher schemes have been wrought with fraud and abuse; lack of federal oversight will lead to more of the same. Investigations have exposed numerous instances of fraud and abuse with state voucher programs. The complete lack of oversight with the federal vouchers all but guarantees the waste will continue.

Investigations have uncovered: private schools enrolling “phantom” or ineligible students to receive more voucher funds (Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, D.C., others); owners creating “ghost schools” that abruptly shut down after the voucher payouts (Wisconsin); voucher recipients purchasing luxury items, vacations, and even Botox treatments rather educational services (Florida, Arizona, North Carolina, others); schools inflating tuition rates to benefit more from voucher funds (Indiana, others); and schools operating highly unqualified staff (Louisiana, others). The list goes on.

In Arizona, a failing charter school that had been shut down simply reopened the next school year as a private religious school operating with voucher funds. Will more schools see this as a strategy to avoid accountability around public funds? While it often feels as if nearly every dollar spent by public schools is analyzed and scrutinized, billions of dollars will be handed over to this scheme without a care.

There is no clear understanding of if or how vouchers will be available to students that stay in public and charter schools. The article states that public and charter school students will be able to access these funds for educational services, but even experts agree there is no clear guidance on how that would even work. Why offer potential funding for public school students via vouchers while cutting billions in funding for those same services at public schools – and in the process divert billions to private schools? It simply does not make sense.

What does seem apparent is that private school voucher recipients will likely be able to “stack” state and federal voucher dollars. This means private schools could eventually receive more per pupil funding than public and charter schools. In a state where public school funding is $3,000 per-pupil short of the national average, diverting funds to private schools rather than addressing the desperate needs of public schools is unconscionable.

If we are going to talk about vouchers, we need to be honest about who they do not serve. Reporters, politicians and community leaders have a responsibility to look at all the factors and all of the evidence.

The academic benefit of vouchers is dubious. The cost to the public is high. And even with vouchers, private schools remain unavailable to the most vulnerable students, including those who would likely not be able to afford additional tuition, books, uniforms, and other fees, and for those that may need food assistance, transportation and other critical supports that public schools provide. Educate Nevada Now does not support helping a wealthy few at the expense of the most vulnerable. That is the debate at hand.