Voucher supporters couch their proposals in attractive language like "opportunity scholarships." In reality, vouchers offer little opportunity for children and are little more than "private school tax credits" causing taxpayers to subsidize 10 percent of America’s children with money that could improve public schools for the remaining 90 percent of our children.

"Nobody’s explained to me how you take money from public education and make it better," Texas state Senator David Bernsen.

Vouchers have become a powerful tool to promote privatization of our public school system. Despite obvious flaws, voucher legislation continues to sweep the nation.

Pennsylvania unveiled a voucher program that will cost taxpayers $587 million dollars over a five-year period, benefiting students going only to private and parochial schools. "This legislation has holes in it so big you could drive a fleet of school buses through it," says Carole Shields, President of People For The American Way. There are few safeguards for how this public money will be spent, according to Shields. No regulations are outlined for an evaluation process to track student performances and there is no protection against discrimination by the private schools on the basis of gender, religion, disability or academic standing.

New Mexico’s legislative session closed on March 19 with a second veto on the state budget, which did not include a voucher provision. The legislature reconvened May 4 for a special session to address passage of the budget and debate passage of a voucher provision. Voucher proponents, led by the Governor, have conducted an aggressive radio campaign to get their message to the public.

In Illinois, the momentum for vouchers is strong this session with traditional voucher foe and former Governor Jim Edgar out of office. Governor Ryan has been a leader for voucher legislation. HB 999 has already passed the General Assembly and is under consideration in the Senate. This is the same bill vetoed by Governor Edgar when it passed the legislature last session.

Cleveland, Ohio was one of the first two cities to launch a pilot program on vouchers. Constitutionality questions about the Cleveland project are still unresolved, pending decision by the Ohio Supreme Court. In the meantime, flaws are coming to the forefront on the Cleveland project. A recent state audit discovered that a large number of children in the $50,000-$80,000 family income bracket are receiving tuition subsidies through the program. In addition, a staggering $400,000 is being spent to provide taxi service for transportation to and from school for individual students utilizing the voucher program.

Opposition to Vouchers There is no evidence that vouchers improve student learning. Vouchers undermine reform efforts by shifting scarce resources away from public schools. Parental choice is a misnomer. Private school admissions offices retain the choice of which students to admit or reject. The American people consistently reject vouchers at the polls. Vouchers will encourage "fly-by-night" schools and provide less accountability for public resources than public schools.

Support for Vouchers Parental choice introduces competition into the public school monopoly. By increasing competition, vouchers improve teaching quality and student performance. Vouchers allow parents a choice in their children’s education. Vouchers give low-income parents a choice for their children’s education.