12/04/2024
This is important. Please read this whole post about why everyone in SC should care about this.
🍎A subcommittee of the Senate Education Committee will meet on Tuesday, December 10th at 10am. No public testimony is allowed. We can submit written comments, but they have to be submitted by this Friday, December 6th at 12pm. So...less than 3 days.
🍎This post is informational- making you aware of this meeting and impending legislation. There will be a separate post with initiatives and action steps. We wanted to get this out to you as soon as we could.
🍎We have dug up as much information as we could, but it's challenging for us to guide you when we can't see a blueprint of what they will propose. Here's a rundown of what we've been able to parse from conversations and documents.
🍎The legislation will start in the Senate.
🍎It will consist of providing vouchers by either:
🔵Money upfront paid directly to private institutions for eligible kids
OR
🔵Money provided to eligible families through a tax credit
🍎Here's where it gets messy. There will be some tweaks to the version they passed last year that was ruled unconstitutional (footnote on that). The tweaks are VASTLY important in determining who will benefit from this program. Here's why.
🍎In states where there's been voucher programs with no components for accessibility for the most vulnerable populations (low income or kids with disabilities), the result has been essentially a divide between wealthy/poor, white/minority, abled/disabled. Some figures put of Arizona-
🔵WHO UTILIZES IT- Most kids received vouchers never attended public school in the first place (71%!). So this ADDS costs to the education budget, since it's not replacing kids already in public school. They are coupons for kids who never enrolled anyway.
🔵The poorer the zip code, the less likely kids were accessing the program. For example in West Phoenix, median household income of $46,000, only 1 of every 100 students used a voucher. In Paradise Valley where the median household income is $173,000, about 28 of every 100 students used a voucher.
🔵COSTS- The program started with a 385 million dollar price tag and is projected to cost over $700 million this year. The voucher program makes up one half of Arizona's current budget deficit and is projected to comprise about two thirds of the projected deficit in 2025.
🔵SPECIAL EDUCATION- Across the country, only about 1.5-3% of students receiving special education access the program.
🍎So in summary- vouchers do not mitigate education costs because they are primarily accessed by families who never would choose public education anyway, so it only adds to the cost.
🍎The voucher-funded schools don't typically reflect their communities. For example, in NC, it is common for minority students to make up less than 10% of voucher schools in districts comprised of 60% or more minorities.
🍎Very few kids with special needs will be able to access it without accessibility requirements.
🍎Higher costs and benefiting only select children.
🍎So we will need EVERYONE to write a short comment to submit. Please look for an invitation to participate in doing that, with guidance and templates for you to utilize.
🍎Thank you to everyone who has signed up to participate in advocacy across SC thus far. You are so appreciated!!
FOOTNOTE- the previous voucher bill was ruled unconstitutional, but now with the change in the Supreme Court, the atmosphere is more favorable to pass voucher legislation, even though our SC constitution currently bars giving taxpayer money to private institutions.
