History of Private Schools

A timeline is helpful when dealing with a controversial issue such as school vouchers. But before we do that, what are vouchers?

EdChoice describes vouchers as:

"School vouchers give parents the freedom to choose a private school for their children, using all or part of the public funding set aside for their children's education. Under such a program, funds typically spent by a school district would be allocated to a participating family in the form of a voucher to pay partial or full tuition for their child's private school, including both religious and non-religious options."

You will hear vouchers called various names, such as parental choice, education grants, scholarships, and tuition grants, to list but a few of the names you will encounter for vouchers. According to the Education Commission of the States, Sixteen states and the District of Columbia currently offer 27 voucher programs.

This TEDxICC talk is entitled School Choice: The Next Frontier In Civil Rights.

Introduction to School Choice

School choice is a term that encompasses various alternatives to traditional public schools, including charter schools, private schools, homeschooling, and vouchers. The concept has deep historical roots and continues to be a vital part of contemporary education policy.

Early 20th Century: Origins and Early Models

The idea of educational vouchers was first proposed by economist Milton Friedman in 1955. He suggested

Voucher programs have become a subject of significant interest in education policy, with almost a quarter of states implementing such programs. These initiatives aim to give parents more educational choices for their children, allowing them to use public funds to enroll their children in private or parochial schools.

This article overviews voucher programs in thirteen states—Arizona, Colorado, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah, Vermont, and Wisconsin. In addition, it highlights the year each program became law and provides a brief description of each state's voucher program.

Arizona (1997)

Arizona's voucher program, the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA), was established in 1997. Initially limited to students with disabilities, the program has expanded to include other eligible student populations, such as children from military families and those attending low-performing schools. ESA provides parents with public funds through education savings accounts for various educational expenses, including tuition, textbooks, and tutoring services.

Colorado (2003)

Colorado's voucher program, the School Choice Grant Program, was enacted in 2003. The program aims to provide educational options for students from low-income families attending low-performing schools. Qualified students receive tuition grants at private schools participating in the program.

District of Columbia (2003)

The District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) was established in 2003. It is the only federally funded voucher program in the United States. The OSP offers scholarships to low-income families residing in the District of Columbia, enabling them to enroll their children in participating private schools.

Florida (1999)

Florida's voucher program,

The utilization of vouchers in education has been a subject of ongoing debate in various states, and Arizona is no exception. Vouchers, also known as school choice programs, provide public funds that parents can use to cover tuition expenses at private schools. In this article, we will delve into Arizona's current state of vouchers, exploring relevant state laws and evaluating the pros and cons of this contentious issue. However, before we delve into Arizona's voucher program, here is a look at the beginnings of voucher programs.

How voucher programs got their start.

Voucher programs have their roots in the mid-20th century. Economists and politicians initially promoted vouchers for educational choices and alternatives to traditional public schools. The concept of vouchers gained traction as a response to concerns about the quality of education, particularly in disadvantaged communities.

Here is a brief overview of the historical context and reasons behind the emergence of voucher programs:

Milton Friedman and the School Choice Movement

The intellectual foundation of voucher programs can be traced back to economist Milton Friedman, who popularized the idea in his seminal 1955 essay "The Role of Government in Education.

Friedman argued for a system where government funding would follow students, enabling parents to choose the educational institutions that best meet their children's needs, including public and private schools.

Civil Rights Movement and Desegregation

During the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s, there was a push for desegregation and equal access to

I wrote my first article on vouchers in 2008. While the media portrays it as a controversial issue, I have always tried to take a balanced approach when I write about vouchers. School Choice: Vouchers, Scholarships, and More; Vouchers aka Tax Credits and Scholarships; What Strings Do School Vouchers Have Attached?; Charter Schools and Vouchers illustrate my thoughts on the subject.

This time, because so much more information about voucher programs is available, I asked an authoritative source to answer my questions on your behalf.

Rob K: What is the purpose of a private school voucher program?

ChatGPT: A private school voucher program aims to provide families with publicly-funded scholarships or vouchers that can be used to pay for tuition at private schools rather than at public schools. The goal of such programs is typically to increase school choice and provide families with access to educational options that they might not otherwise be able to afford.

Proponents of voucher programs argue that they promote competition among schools and can help improve education quality by giving families more options and forcing schools to compete for students. They also argue that voucher programs can help to reduce educational inequality by providing low-income families access to high-quality private schools that they might not otherwise be able to afford.

Critics of voucher programs argue that they divert public funds away from public schools, which can lead to reduced resources and lower-quality education for students