RED LIES: School Vouchers Are About Choice

Indiana pitched its school voucher program as a way to “even the playing field” for low-income families. It has evolved into a behemoth, subsidizing private, religious education for wealthy students who never would have attended public schools.

Indiana isn’t alone. Every state that has implemented school vouchers have claimed to do so in an effort towards equality. That has proven to not be the case. States like Ohio have no income cap so wealthy families are still receiving reimbursements for their education costs. Millions of dollars are being siphoned away from public schools and communities to boost the bank accounts of private, religious institutions.

Indiana Coalition for Public Education has a chart on its website that shows how much money has been taken away from local communities and their public school districts. South Bend Community Schools have lost over $32 million in the last seven years, Evansville-Vanderburgh has lost over $36 million, Fort Wayne has lost over $49 million. Then state lawmakers point to these financially depleted districts, say, “look, they’re failing” and continue to expand the voucher program.

See how much money your district has lost here: https://indianacoalitionforpubliced.org/voucher-cost/

This narrative is how we know school vouchers has never been about “equity” and “choice.” It has been a strategic, deliberate effort to delegitimize public schools in order to defund and privatize education.