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Education Expert Warns: Vouchers Bust Budgets, Fail Students
Policy analyst says Tennessee should be aware of the risks of voucher programs
A national education policy expert warned Tennessee lawmakers about the potential pitfalls of a universal school voucher scheme.
Professor Josh Cowen of Michigan State University spoke at a forum hosted by Sen. Heidi Campbell and Rep. Caleb Hemmer. In his presentation, Cowen discussed his research into voucher programs across the country. Cowen said his findings suggest policymakers should be wary of school vouchers as a policy solution.
Among the risks cited by Cowen were the potential for school vouchers to exceed budget projections and the track record of voucher programs failing to improve student achievement.
In Arizona, for instance, the state faced a $1.4 billion budget shortfall, much of which was the result of new voucher spending. Similar issues have arisen in Ohio, where vouchers now account for $1 billion of spending and Ohio House Republican leadership is eyeing a $650 million cut to public school funding. In Arkansas, the governor is steering more than half of the state’s budget surplus to its voucher program — shortchanging other priorities.
Cowen also said school voucher programs consistently fail to produce positive outcomes for students.
“These voucher schemes devastate student learning. The bigger and more recent the voucher system, the worse the results are for kids,” Cowen said. “Over the last decade, we see some of the largest test score drops for kids who transfer from public to private school using a voucher that we’ve seen on any question in the history of education research.”
Sen. Campbell said Cowen's presentation highlighted reasons the Tennessee General Assembly should reject Gov. Bill Lee's school voucher proposal.
“Tennesseans deserve policies that strengthen public education, not dismantle it for profit,” said Sen. Campbell. “Dr. Cowen’s work shows us what happens when we let private interests prioritize their bottom line over our kids’ futures.”
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