School;vouchers;have;been;a;con- troversial;but;exciting;addition to;the;education;landscape;in;the United;States;over;the;past;20
years.;They;have;been;repeatedly;chal-lenged;in;court,;and;have;been;upheld;by
the;U. S.;Supreme;Court.;In;2013,;voucher
cases;were;decided;in;several;states,;with
Louisiana’s;program;even;facing;an;at-tack;by;President;Obama’s;Department
of;Justice;(DoJ). This;month’s;column;will
discuss;the;legality;of;school;vouchers;in
light;of;the;year’s;events.
What Are School Vouchers?
Education;vouchers,;commonly;referred
to;as;“school;vouchers”,;are;government-
run;programs;that;provide;parents;with
funding;or;tax;breaks;to;send;their;chil-
dren;to;private;school.;In;2013,;there;was
some;version;of;these;programs;in;over
20;states. 1;In;practice,;they;are;mostly
focused;on;low-income;families;or;stu-dents;with;disabilities,;and;rarely;include
homeschoolers.;For;instance,;some;tax
breaks are available to homeschool-ing;families;only;in;Louisiana,;Indiana,
North Carolina, New Hampshire, and
Minnesota. 2
The;idea;of;school;vouchers;has;been
around;at;least;since;1955,;when;econo-
mist;and;Nobel;laureate;Milton;Fried-
man;introduced;the;idea.;He;advocated
for;vouchers;throughout;his;life,;argu-
ing;the;most;efficient;and;equitable;way
for;government;to;fund;education;is;“to
finance students, not schools. Assign
a;specified;sum;of;money;to;each;child
and;let;him;or;her;and;his;or;her;parents
choose;the;school;that;they;believe;best,
perhaps;a;government;school,;perhaps;a
private;school,;perhaps;homeschooling.” 3
Homeschoolers;have;long;echoed;the
refrain of privately schooled families,
who;have;complained;that;their;children
do;not;receive;the;benefit;of;local;taxes
used;to;finance;public;schools.;Typically,
property;taxes;fund;local;schools;and;are
levied;on;those;living;in;the;area,;whe-ther;or;not;they;have;children;or;send
them;to;public;school.;This;seems;unfair
and discriminatory. Poor and middle-class;children;trapped;in;failing;public
schools;often;do;not;have;the;funds;to
send;their;children;to;private;school;or
to;homeschool;them.
Proponents;of;school;vouchers;would
like;to;see;families;empowered;by;tax;dol-
lars;to;educate;their;children;in;the;way
they;think;best,;with;the;added;benefit;of
www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
Legally
Speaking
Antony Barone Kolenc
2013;in;Review—
School;Vouchers
Homeschoolers;have;long;echoed;the;refrain;that;their;children;do;not;receive
the;benefit;of;local;taxes;used;to;finance;public;schools.
