The Usefulness of School Vouchers

The American people have a decline of confidence in the educational institutions in America. This has lead to theories behind how to improve the public schools' situation. The most recent argument has been over school vouchers, which allow students to use a determined sum of taxpayers' money to help in the tuition costs of private schools. This use of public funds for private education should not be allowed because it would discriminate against students who would be going to private schools for economic, political and social reasons. It will segregate the classes even more than they are today because in order for a voucher to be helpful to a family, they must have a substantial amount of money to begin with, resulting in a stratified society. Primarily however, school vouchers are a violation of the national constitution and most state constitutions.

Of course there are those who strongly support school vouchers. In many cases, the middle class is drawn to the idea because for a small amount of more money annually, one's child may attend an institution of choice for the opportunity to receive a higher level of education in a private school. The thought is that with a private school education, a child can get into better colleges or universities allowing the possibility of escaping poverty a reality. The problem with this ideal is that very few of the middle class population can make up the tuition difference that is not covered by vouchers for a private school education, making the possibility for the impoverished families nearly impossible. Though a family may be able to make sacrifices to have the extra money for tuition alone; books, uniforms, transportation and extracurricular costs are not included. This ...

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...chers has been out before voters, and 19 out of 20 times, the people have said no (Doerr 27). The Gallup Organization and the Phi Delta Kappa educators' fraternity independently conduct most polls regarding vouchers (Doerr 31). One poll question asked, "Do you favor or oppose allowing students and parents to choose a private school to attend at public expense." In 1993, the poll returned with 55 percent opposed, 45 percent in favor, while in 1995, the results were 65 percent opposed, 33 percent in favor (Doerr 32). The significant increase in opposition to vouchers can be attributed to the increase in knowledge of what they are and the potential damage they could do to the public and private schools, level of education, personal rights and the economy.

If vouchers are not the answer to the insufficient educational system in America, what is?