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School Voucher Q & A: What Parents Need to Know
Hello, I'm William Browning with ACTION United, the most active parent organizing group in PA. The parents and community members we talk to on a daily basis have real concerns about the school voucher plan. We share their concerns. In particular, how will the students who receive vouchers be chosen? And once they are chosen, what will be the process of selecting a school to attend?
I'm joined today by Dr. Joan Duvall-Flynn of the Pennsylvania NAACP's education committee.
Tags: Pennsylvania, SB1, vouchers
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Lauren Jacobs on -
I'm wondering about the impact on the racial composition of schools. Is there any research on the impact of vouchers on segregation? Or thoughts on how the proposed bills will impact that here?
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Permalink Reply by Emmanuel Bussie on
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William I think we can agree a voucher system does not have the same impact on all the tax payers of a particular county. If you the means or right at the edge of your financial capabilities to send your children to a private schools then a voucher would be beneficial. If you are like most and cannot afford to contribute to a public school system via taxes and pay for a private school education with or without a voucher, then this type of system would just pull public resource away for a public school to benefit those that have more and can afford more. Thus it is obvious this would not be a fair use of public dollars. If we believe it’s not fair then why are we pursuing this option? To transfer additional financial burden from those that have greater resource to those have less?
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Permalink Reply by Joan Duvall Flynn on
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Hello, I am Joan Duvall-Flynn, Education Committee for the PA NAACP.
According to Senate Bill 1, school districts will have to develop the applications. Then parents get the application from the home district. They then apply to the school of their choice. The school does not have to accept students and the school does not have to account for the decision.
Parents have to be informed that the child has been accepted. They would then notify the oversight group in Harrisburg. Then, a voucher would mailed to the parent. Then the parent would pay the school.
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Permalink Reply by Len Rieser on -
Much of the voucher discussion is about access to private and religious schools, but there's also a big part of the bill that talks about enabling kids to go to better public schools -- which is something that I know lots of families might want, especially if they live within commuting distance of a better-off district. But is this part of the bill likely to mean anything in practice -- that is, are suburban districts, for example, likely to find room for urban students, even if they come with a voucher?
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Permalink Reply by D. william Browning on
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Great question Lauren
Looking at the fiscal note for the bill -- it seems clear that a voucher system would certainly create (or really exacerbate) segregation by class.
By the third year of the bill middle-income students would be eligible, and the amount of money set aside for low-income students would be capped.
This is a prime example of the "bait and switch" nature of this bill.
What might have begun as an effort to help poor students in failing schools, is now simply a handout to private and religious schools. But I have found a study which states“We find that a universal voucher is likely to increase racial and ethnic segregation across public schools”.
UNIVERSAL VOUCHERS AND RACIAL AND ETHNIC SEGREGATION http://mywebspace.quinnipiac.edu/ejbrunner/research/white%20flight.pdf
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Permalink Reply by Joan Duvall Flynn on
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There is a great deal of research on how charter schools have increased the resegregation of children in school. Under Senate Bill 1, private schools do the selecting of students (the parents do not really select the school in that schools do not have to accept a child) private schools can have an even greater impact on segregation than charter schools are having.
As well, children with special needs can be left to the local school - where they can become the critical mass. It cost more to education children with special needs and children who live in poverty.
Now, what difference does it make if schools are segregated by color or by class? Well, the research indicates that cross-economic class, cross-cultural experiences have a positive impact on academic achievement.
At the same time, it is to the benefit of all children to learn to work and live in common effort with people who are different from themselves. It increases our acceptance of others and we learn to not fear those who are not like ourselves.
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Permalink Reply by D. william Browning on
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Hello Emmanuel, the answer is that those who are pursuing vouchers have not desire to help low-income students. The move is to remove government from the education system, thus privatizing the education process. just look at why the Sen. put off voting on the bill, they said the bill only included low-income students! and they wouldn't consider it until more middle-class families could be included. So much for the benefit of low-income students.
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Permalink Reply by Brett Schaeffer on -
Joan - See Len's question below.
Is what you described also the process for using a voucher to go to a public school in another district?
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Permalink Reply by Joan Duvall Flynn on
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In the Governor's amendment proposal, he would extend the access to vouchers to people whose income is up to $78,000. Most people are satified with their pubic schools. They do not see a reason to go searching for a school for their children. There are people who prefer to have their children educated in a religious setting. The vouchers and the Education Improvement Tax Credit appeal to these families in a big way.
The House just passed an EITC bill that does the same thing that is proposed in the EITC section of Senate Bill 1. What is not clear in the SB1 EITC section is how knowledge of the tax credit is disseminated. As well, $100 million dollars in tax relief is substantial.
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Permalink Reply by D. william Browning on
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Hello Dr. Duvall-Flynn, thanks for replying. Do we know the normal time period for this process to take place? And what happens when a child is rejected from attending the school of their chose?
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Permalink Reply by D. william Browning on
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Hello Len, I have not researched this part of the voucher too much to give a definitive answer, but there is already push-back from local parents of suburban communities. Some in suburban communities feel they pay higher taxes to live in those districts and resent the thought of low-income students attending their local schools. Also, each school has to elect to be a voucher school. If the school chooses not to elect in, then they would not be bound to accept urban students in suburban schools.
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Permalink Reply by Joan Duvall Flynn on
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There are time lines in the bill. For instance, for this first year, should the bill pass, I have counted that there are 30 work days during which a parent could apply and a school could respond. That is probably why the Governor suggested that the first year (dedicated to the poor) would probably have little impact on the budget.
I need to read again in Senate Bill 1 the exact timelines for the usual process as they slip my mind at this minute.
Nothing happens when a child is rejected. There is no recourse. The school has the power to accept or to reject. So, the parent will just have to tell the child he or she did not get accepted. Money only moves when the parent notifies the oversight group in writing that a child has been accepted to a given school. SO the process stops.
One thing to be concerned about is the tuition fee. Once people are forced to shop for school and pay through vouchers, market forces will take over. The old saying, "You get what you pay for." will take charge. There will be advertising - as there is now for the cyber-charter. Tuitions will increase, while the amount of vouchers will decrease.
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