With the recent election and inauguration of President Donald Trump, his policies have been heavily debated by citizens and academics alike. One plan that has ignited significant discussion is President Trump’s plan for American school systems. The President and his pick for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, are both proponents of voucher programs which, in many states, provide low and middle income families with partial scholarships to private schools. This funding is often contingent on the student’s home school being a “failing” public school. Instead of funneling tax dollars into independent educational organizations, though, state and federal governments should use the money to rejuvenate the American public school system, particularly those deemed “failing.”
The private school voucher program represents a problem because it inherently assumes the inferiority of the public school system, in relation to its private counterparts. The program was created in Milwaukee, Wis. in 1991 and was designed to provide lower income students with the resources to attend higher quality schools. However, with increased levels of educator training and improving test scores, the quality of the American public education system is increasing. The most recent Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll on the public’s attitudes on public education found 70 percent of parents would give an A or B rating to their children’s schools.
This is not to say the system doesn’t require improvement. However, according to the Atlantic, the narrative of negativity surrounding the public school system has been shown to be harmful. It is assumed that, since private schools cost more, they produce academically superior students. But this is not always the case. According to a 2011 study on vouchers by the Center on Education Policy, “achievement gains for voucher students are similar to those of their public school peers.”
Moreover, a 2016 study by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute in Ohio found voucher students in Ohio performed considerably worse than their public school counterparts. Since the academic benefits of the voucher program are inconsistent, it would make more sense for states to funnel the funds to public schools, in order to make them as successful as possible.
The program, in President Trump’s eyes, could also give families the ability to choose to attend a religious private school, regardless of their financial status. This could present a constitutional problem, however. A total of 36 states across the nation have Blaine Amendments, which are designed to prohibit state funding of religious organizations. Religious schools fall under the umbrella of the Blaine Amendments so, in 36 of the 50 states, the plan would be unusable. Furthermore, Trump’s plan would need states to provide millions in additional funding, just to keep the program afloat. Though I believe every child should have access to the best education possible, the funding which would fuel this voucher program could easily be used to improve existing public educational institutions.
Private schools were designed to create a positive educational environment, without state or government intervention. Although voucher programs would create more funds for these schools, they would also open them up to additional governmental scrutiny. Scholarships for low income students should be handled by each private educational institution, not federal and state governments. Also, by driving students in failing public educational institutions to private schools, the voucher program could take money away from those schools which could be used to make improvements. Though many Americans are happy with the level of education their children are receiving through public education, improvements can always be made. However, cutting funding and supporting the private school voucher program will do nothing to aid that goal.
Carly Mulvihill is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at c.mulvihill@cavalierdaily.com.
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