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It has been suggested that this article be merged into Distribution of Education Funds. Please discuss this on this talk page.


Vouchers and school choice[]

Issue Summary[]

  • Typical voucher funding systems (partial, full, etc.)
  • Religious or not?
    • Blaine Amendments - Amendments or provisions that exist in most state constitutions in the United States that forbid direct government aid to educational institutions that have any religious affiliation.
  • Court precedent

School vouchers essentially give a parent a choice where they want to educate their child. Instead of being stuck with one school, parents would have a range of options.

Vouchers are controversial.

The case FOR school vouchers[]

The case for vouchers seems to center around the following themes:

  • competition will force public schools to be better
  • parents and families have a better idea what type of education will best serve their child
  • students learn differently, and may do better at different schools

The case AGAINST school vouchers[]

The case against vouchers seems to be centered around the following themes:

  • many non-public schools are religious, thus breaking the church/state rule.
  • non-private schools may use different assessment instruments, thus creating difficulty in measuring effectiveness.
  • social equity: who gets the vouchers?
  • limited funds: Redirecting tax dollars to vouchers undermines existing Public school budgets. This results in school closings, longer bus rides and higher pupil to teacher ratios.

Issue Discussion: Vouchers and school choice[]

65% rule[]

Issue Summary[]

Should 65% of all education funds be spent directly on classroom instruction? This is the argument in many states, where legislation or ballot initiatives have been introduced to make this the law.

First Class Education is a think-tank founded by Dr. Patrick Byrne, founder of Overstock.com. This group is promoting the 65% solution in initiatives nationwide.

Issue Discussion: 65% rule[]

The problem with the 65% rule is the problem with all "rules". They limit the flexibility of decision-makers and often have unintended consequences. Everyone thinks that more money should go to classrooms, and everyone hates wasting money on bureaucracy. But rigid rules often backfire. This could have similar consequences to California's famous property tax limitations via Proposition 13.--Jafree 19:15, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

Supplemental Education Services[]

Issue Summary[]

When schools fail, how should government support remediation?

Issue Discussion: Supplemental Education Services[]

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