Is Your State Considering An Education Savings Account Voucher Law? Here Are Five Questions You Should Be Asking.
Every red state is trying to jump on the voucher wagon. At Forbes, I brought up five critical questions that taxpayers should be asking. Including…
Who is eligible to receive the voucher?
Some states have gone with a voucher “starter” bill which limits eligibility to students below a certain income line or students with special needs. There may be a requirement that students are leaving the public school system, but increasingly states are aiming for a universal voucher that has no income requirements and can be used for students who are already enrolled in private schools. The more students who are eligible, the more expensive the bill will be for taxpayers.
What protections are in place for students and families?
Under most voucher programs, students with special needs waive their rights. Parents are asked to sign off on a statement that they are now fully responsible for their child’s education. Most bills include no requirement for gatekeeping for vendors; if you want to be eligible to collect voucher dollars, just fill out a form. Voucher programs, so far, do not include any recourse for parents who find they have been defrauded by service providers or who find that the voucher dollars do not go far enough. No voucher program, existing or proposed, makes any promises about maintaining the dollar amount of the voucher.
Often service providers’ rights are more explicitly protected than those of students. Taking voucher money does not make them “an agent of the state or federal government.” They will be given “maximum freedom.” Typically a provider shall not be required “to alter its creed, practices, admissions policy, or curriculum.” They remain free to discriminate as they wish.