1
To Pay or Not to Pay
A Stand on School Vouchers
2
Imagine If

• You are part of the
• Upper Class
• Children been attending Private Schools since
  they were in Kindergarten
• Middle Class
• Children are in Public, bused to an inner city
  magnet school.
• would like to go private
• Lower Class
• Children are in Public school, in the inner city.

3
History of School Vouchers
The main controversial issues are broken down
into two main articles of criticism. The first
criticism alleges that competitive markets are
not well suited to the field of education, and
that any school reform based on privatization,
competition, and parental choice is doomed to
failure. The second criticism states that
government-funded scholarships would not create
a genuinely free educational market, but instead
would perpetuate dependence on government funding
and regulation to the continued detriment of
families.
4

• In 1954, the Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board
  of Education decided to put an end to school
  segregation by offering all children equal
  educational opportunity, discarding the issues of
  race. This changed the educational landscape of
  American history
• In 1955, vouchers were introduced to the nation
  by Milton Friedman, an economist
• During the 1980s era, President Regan proposed
  many vouchers during his administration, congress
  defeated these voucher measures. School vouchers
  began to take on struggling inner city schools.

5

• In the years in between 1995 to 1998, a five
  year evaluation of the Milwaukee voucher program
  showed that not one student had achieved any
  gain legislators stop funding evaluation
  component and instead, expand program to include
  religious schools.
• In 1990, the nation developed its first
  publicly-funded voucher program in Milwaukee
• In 2002, in case Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, the
  Supreme Court rules that the Cleveland voucher
  does not violate the First Amendment and upholds
  the constitutionality under federal constitution.
• In 2003 Colorado enacts a voucher law, becoming
  the fourth state to use public tax dollars to
  fund private schooling.

6
Whats so good about vouchers?

• Has been widely supported by parents
• Its a way for students to escape borderline or
  failing grades
• I.e. Clevelands Trial
• Establish a code of conduct and discipline
• Improve the learning environment

7
And

• Teachers support School vouchers
• It introduces competition in the provision of
  education
• Can improve public schools overall academic
  performance

8
Mr. President Thinks

• Two major factors if Vouchers are provided
• Supports the Vouchers

9
And the Verdict says

• The Similarities of the two Cases
• Brown vs. Board of Education
• Brown v. Topeka Board of Education

10
No to Vouchers! No to Vouchers!
Case Public Education and Religious Liberty v.
Liberty First Amendment Congress shall make no
law respecting an establishment of religion
11
School Vouchers are a Catch-22

• School Voucher initiatives, such as Californias
  Proposition 38 (2000), offer parents a false
  sense of hope, rather than a real solution to the
  problem of public schools.

22
12
The Occurance of Catch 22
One Milwaukee parent explains the common
occurrence of the Catch-22 phenomenon when
dealing with the School Voucher program in
Wisconsin I applied for the choice program and
was told that my child could not attend the
school because he had poor grades in Milwaukee
Public School. But thats why I wanted to send
him to a choice school. She, like many other
parents, learned that Private schools can deny
Admission to Voucher students based on previous
Academic and Disciplinary records.
13
Parents Choice or Schools Choice
School Voucher programs put the Power of Choice
into the hands of Private schools, not parents.
Getting a Voucher is one thing, being able to use
it is another AvailabilityApplication for
Vouchers and Private schools enrollment
procedures are mystifying school capacity
becomes an issue DiscriminationPrivate schools
can deny admission based on a number of their own
subjective criteria, including Gender,
Religion,ability to pay extra costs, Language,
Academic ability, or Physical ability Accountabil
ityPrivate schools have very little
accountability toChildren, Parents, and Taxpayers
14
Voucher proposals take many forms, and some are
designed to deliberately disguise the basic
realities that will result over time. The best
students will be skimmed offthose whom private
schools find desirable for their own reasons.
Since families will have to make up additional
costs, those in the upper- and middle-income brack
ets will be helped the most. Skin color,
religion, economic class, language group, need
for remedial workall these things would be
barriers to acceptance and success in a system
designed around the choices of the private
schools, not the choices of parents and
students. ---Kweisi Mfume, president/CEO of the
NAACP
15
The Fine Print (oh, by the way)

• There are commonly additional costs most
  Vouchers wont be able to cover, as well as
  Services that are not provided by many Private
  schools (but are provided by most Public schools)

16
Many services that Parents depend on in Public
schools are not available in Private schools

• Free or low-price Lunches
• Medical services, such as a school Nurse
• School Transportation
• Books
• Uniforms
• Activities
• (none of which would be covered by Vouchers)

17
Mo Money, Mo Problems

• The money for Vouchers would come from us
  Taxpayers it would also take money away from
  public services like Police, Fire Dept.,
  Healthcare, Childcare, or from new taxes

18
The First Amendment Question

• The Separation of Church and State is jeopardized
  when one considers that State or Federal
  Vouchers--created by TAXES--will go to the
  Religious indoctrination of some Voucher students.

To compel a man to furnish contributions of
money for the propagation of opinions which he
disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical.
---Thomas Jefferson
19
Public schools AbandonedMajority of
Californias students Left Behind

• Using public dollars for Vouchers instead of
  investing in programs that we know work will only
  delay our ability to provide a high-quality
  education for all children.
• ---C.J. Prentiss, Ohio State Representative

20
Lets get SMART!
S.M.A.R.T. schools are one possible solution to
the failing school system. Small classes
schools Money for equal education Authentic
assessment Racial/economic equity Top-notch
teaching/curriculum
21
And The Verdict is
Any acceptance of School Vouchers would be a
clear sign that we have given up on Public
Education and the idea that high-quality
education should be available to everyone. In
essence, acceptance of Vouchers is an acceptance
of inequality it shows a reluctance to fight
against the racial and economic injustices that
exist in our society. Fix the problem at its
Foundation. Change the focus of the Education
system from accommodation of mediocrity and
inequality to championship of universal equality
and excellence.
22
Your Choice!!!
To pay or not to pay.. Where do you stand?
Does your class standing matter ? Is it going to
effect you in any way?