Vouchers

Education news, analysis, and opinion about public funding which can be used to fund students’ private school tuition

Explainer

What Are School Vouchers and How Do They Work?
Few topics in education incite as much debate as vouchers, which steer public money to families to pay for students to attend private school
Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton walks away after announcing Texas' lawsuit to challenge President Obama's transgender bathroom order during a news conference in Austin, Texas, on May 25, 2016.
Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton walks away following a news conference in Austin, Texas, on May 25, 2016. Paxton recently sued several Texas school districts for allegedly engaging in electioneering before the March 5 primaries.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP
School & District Management Advocacy or Electioneering? Education Leaders Walk Fine Line in School Voucher Debate
Texas is cracking down on district leaders' allegedly political speech—in what others see as a pretext for quashing anti-voucher sentiment.
Olina Banerji, March 11, 2024
5 min read
School Choice & Charters Tracker Which States Have Private School Choice?
Education savings accounts, voucher, and tax-credit scholarships are growing. This tracker keeps tabs on them so you don't have to.
7 min read
Illustration of completed tasks, accomplishment, finished checklist, achievement or project progression concept. Person holding pencil tick all completed task checkbox.
Nuthawut Somsuk/iStock/Getty
School Choice & Charters As Private School Choice Grows, Critics Push for More Guardrails
Calls are growing for more scrutiny over where state funds for private school choice go and how students are faring in the classroom.
Mark Lieberman, January 16, 2024
7 min read
Photo of collage of gavel and school building.
F. Sheehan for Education Week / Getty
School Choice & Charters Private School Choice Faces New Challenges as State Lawsuits Pile Up
The lawsuits target new, broader state programs that allow parents to use public money for private school expenses.
Mark Lieberman, November 16, 2023
6 min read
Karl, age 5, stands with his dad, Patrick Bittorf, on Nov. 10, 2023, as they join faculty members, students, parents and supporters at a news conference at Chicago Hope Academy to try to save the Invest in Kids tax credit scholarship program.
Karl, age 5, stands with his dad, Patrick Bittorf, on Nov. 10, 2023, as they join faculty members, students, parents, and supporters at a news conference at Chicago Hope Academy to try to save the Invest in Kids tax credit scholarship program.
Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune via TNS
School Choice & Charters Families Lament, Public School Advocates Celebrate End of Controversial Scholarship Tax Credit
The Illinois program prompted fierce debate over the merits of what some equate to a politically volatile school choice voucher program.
Jeremy Gorner, Dan Petrella, and Alysa Guffey, Chicago Tribune, November 14, 2023
8 min read
Image of books, money, calculator, and graduation cap.
cnythzl/DigitalVision Vectors
School Choice & Charters Most Students Getting New School Choice Funds Aren't Ditching Public Schools
Data from several states show most voucher and education savings account recipients aren't leaving public schools for private alternatives.
Mark Lieberman, October 4, 2023
6 min read
Illustration of a man holding oversized money.
Nuthawut Somsuk/iStock/Getty
Education Funding School Funding Debates Are Raging in States, With Districts Caught in the Middle
School choice, historically inequitable funding, political partisanship, and funding predictability are among the issues at stake.
Mark Lieberman, July 14, 2023
6 min read
Illustration of a schoolhouse in a shopping cart
Getty Images
School Choice & Charters Private School Choice Programs Are Having a Moment. But It's Not All Smooth Sailing
Several states have passed private school choice programs with universal eligibility. But some have seen road bumps as they implement them.
Mark Lieberman, June 16, 2023
9 min read
A parent and child looking at 2 different schools
DigitalVision/Getty
School Choice & Charters 6 More States Will Soon Let Almost All Students Attend Private School With Public Money
So far this year, 14 states passed laws and lawmakers in 42 states introduced bills to expand private school choice.
Libby Stanford, June 15, 2023
7 min read
Illustration of a large hand inserting a coin into the top of a stack of books
iStock/Getty
School Choice & Charters Do Vouchers and ESAs Take Money From Public Schools? How States Fund School Choice
Republican state lawmakers have ramped up programs that dedicate public funds for parents to spend on their children’s private education.
Mark Lieberman, May 8, 2023
7 min read
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., talks with reporters outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., talks with reporters outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, in late January.
Susan Walsh/AP
Federal Q&A Boosting 'Pathetically Low' Teacher Pay Is Top of Mind for Bernie Sanders
The progressive senator from Vermont spoke with Education Week as he prepares to chair the Senate's education committee.
Libby Stanford, February 1, 2023
6 min read
Students and teachers from East High School in Salt Lake City walk out of school to protest the HB15 voucher bill, on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023. Several years of pandemic restrictions and curriculum battles have emboldened longtime advocates of funneling public funds to private and religious schools in statehouses throughout the country.
Students and teachers from East High School in Salt Lake City walk out of school on Jan. 25, 2023, to protest legislation that would create private-school vouchers in the state. Several years of pandemic restrictions and curriculum battles have emboldened longtime advocates of funneling public funds to private and religious schools in statehouses throughout the country.
Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP
School Choice & Charters The Push for School Choice Is Accelerating
States across the country are considering sweeping school choice bills that would send public funds to private schools.
Libby Stanford, January 27, 2023
6 min read
Group of white paper planes going in one direction on a light blue background with one individual red paper plane heading in a different direction
E+/Getty
School Choice & Charters Q&A Voucher Programs Gain Strength With Help From the Courts, An Expert Says
A school choice expert explains how recent rulings could prevent future voucher programs from getting blocked by opponents.
Mark Lieberman, December 22, 2022
8 min read
Ellen Weaver, the Republican nominee for South Carolina superintendent of education, speaks at U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan's Faith & Freedom BBQ ahead of the keynote speaker, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on Monday, Aug. 22, 2022, in Anderson, S.C.
Ellen Weaver, the Republican nominee for South Carolina superintendent of education, speaks at U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan's Faith & Freedom BBQ in Anderson, S.C.
Meg Kinnard/AP
States K-12 Insider or Conservative Advocate? Stark Choice in One State Superintendent's Race
A think tank CEO and a high school English teacher battle it out for South Carolina's top K-12 job.
Libby Stanford, October 14, 2022
8 min read