Menu Close

Articles on School vouchers

Displaying all articles

Education reformer Howard Fuller has worked with GOP leaders in support of school vouchers. Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post via Getty Images

How civil rights activist Howard Fuller became a devout champion of school choice

Howard Fuller’s support for school choice is connected to the Black Power movement and a pursuit to provide Black students a quality education by any means necessary.
Advocates of ‘school choice’ are often talking about wanting public funding for models like charter schools, but specialized programs should also be considered part of school choice debates. (Shutterstock)

‘School choice’ policies are associated with increased separation of students by social class

Letting parents choose which school their child attends positions parents as consumers, and often diverts students and funding away from public schools.
Teacher activism in the U.S. has helped pushed the Democratic party towards renewed investment in public education. Children listen as former president Barack Obama campaigns for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, Oct. 21, 2020, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/ Matt Slocum)

How teachers’ union activism helped shift the U.S. election debate on education

The push to expand charter schools in the U.S. contributed to a robust movement of teachers’ unions and allies demanding a well-resourced public school system.
Beginning in September in Alberta, an individual can apply directly to the provincial government when seeking to establish a new charter school. Here, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, March 20, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Charter schools: What you need to know about their anticipated growth in Alberta

First, the United Conservative Party lifted the cap on charter schools, and now new legislation has cut school boards out of the process to establish a charter school.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, center, signs a bill that creates a new voucher program for thousands of students to attend private schools using taxpayer dollars. Lynne Sladky/AP

School vouchers expand despite evidence of negative effects

Research over the past few years has shown vouchers for private schools set back student learning. So why are advocates still pushing so hard to expand them?
President George H.W. Bush in 1990. Mark Reinstein/www.shutterstock.com

George H.W. Bush laid the foundation for education reform

Though his education initiative staggered while he was in office, the late former President George H.W. Bush had an influence that continues to shape education policy, an education historian says.
Many of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ policy proposals have failed. Matt Rourke/AP

Betsy DeVos has little to show after 2 years in office

Although many feared that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos would destroy public education, a review of the past two years shows that much of her policy agenda has failed.
The Supreme Court’s decision in the Trinity Lutheran case is blurring the lines between church and state. aradaphotography/Shutterstock.com

The Supreme Court, religion and the future of school choice

The Trinity Lutheran case signals the Supreme Court’s willingness to interpret separation of church and state as religious discrimination. What will this mean for the future of vouchers and school choice?
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and President Donald Trump participate in a round-table discussion during a visit to Saint Andrew Catholic School in Miami. AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Trump budget would abandon public education for private choice

The Trump administration’s new education budget cuts money from traditional schools and funnels it toward school choice. Is it a nail in the coffin for public education?
Suzi Ailes, right, and Kris Smith study schoolwork for SusQ-Cyber Charter School in their home in Milton, Pennsylvania. AP Photos/ George Widman

What cyber charter schools are and why their growth should worry us

What Betsy DeVos, an advocate of school-choice initiatives and President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for education secretary, as well as the rest of us need to know about cyber charter schools.
Do school voucher programs help improve educational outcomes? Lower Columbia College (LCC)

Do school vouchers improve results? It depends on what we ask

A recent study on school vouchers shows that the program may be harming kids’ academic achievement, at least in math. What’s missing here? Are test scores the only way to judge a program?

Top contributors

More