Tl;dr: School vouchers want to promote education choices. The program allows students to repurpose their tax contribution to local public schools, and use it to attend different (and often private) schools. In theory, the policy allows parents the freedom to choose the best schools for their children. The increased competition should also incentivize public schools to improve their education. These promises have come up empty. School vouchers have caused no visible improvement in student achievement, deprived public school funding, and threatened civil liberty. For these reasons, the United States should not promote school vouchers. School vouchers have produced, at best, mixed results on student achievement. A study on such a program in Louisiana showed student backsliding. After two years, participants performed 13% worse on math, and 7% worse on English than their public school peers. [1] Studies of other programs discovered similar negative or no significant results (except one program in Washington D.C.). [2,3] Furthermore, these studies identified a concerning trend. In all cases, participants’ performance dropped significantly right after switching schools. In effect, they spend the rest of their school years to catch up, an endeavor with little guarantee of success. Since most of these programs target disadvantaged students, such a gamble becomes especially difficult to justify. In this case, policymakers should focus on doing no harm, rather than chasing untenable gains. School vouchers can become a financial burden on public schools. Despite the free-market appearance, school vouchers cost significant financial resources. Since school vouchers allow parents to opt-out of local school taxes, struggling public schools can suffer from loss of revenues. Beyond the competition for tax bases, school vouchers also require government investment. A national school vouchers program can cost $15 billion before it even starts. Such investment could go to public schools in need of more funding. [4] Therefore, school vouchers can become a distraction and take away needed resources for the public school system. School vouchers threaten civil liberties. Public schools must follow civil liberty rules as a condition of their funding. Private schools, many of them religious, do not share such a responsibility. School vouchers can direct public funding to discriminatory institutions. Many participant schools can legally reject students with disabilities or other religious views. Such policies can lead to an inequality of options between different groups. Some schools also lack in their anti-discriminatory policies around gender and sexuality. Under-informed parents may accidentally subject their children to unfair treatment in schools. [5] The possibility of publicly funded discrimination casts a shadow on school vouchers. School vouchers fail to live up to their promises. The program can damage students, public schools, and civil liberties. For these reasons, the United States should not promote school vouchers. [1]. Mills, Jonathan N., and Patrick J. Wolf. 2017. "Vouchers In The Bayou: The Effects Of The Louisiana Scholarship Program On Student Achievement After 2 Years". Educational Evaluation And Policy Analysis 39 (3): 464-484. doi:10.3102/0162373717693108. [2]. Dynarski, Mark, and Austin Nichols. 2017. "More Findings About School Vouchers And Test Scores, And They Are Still Negative". Evidence Speaks Reports. The Brookings Institute. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/ccf_20170713_mdynarski_evidence_speaks1.pdf. [3]. Chingos, Matthew. 2018. "The Effect Of The DC School Voucher Program On College Enrollment". Education Policy Program. The Urban Institute. https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/96686/the_effect_of_the_dc_school_voucher_program_on_college_enrollment_3.pdf. [4]. People for the American Way Foundation. 2021. "The Facts About School Vouchers". People for the American Way Foundation. http://files.pfaw.org/pfaw_files/file_136.pdf. [5]. Fiddiman, Bayliss, and Jessica Yin. 2019. "The Danger Private School Voucher Programs Pose To Civil Rights". Center for American Progress. https://cdn.americanprogress.org/content/uploads/2019/05/10124230/Vouchers-and-Civil-Rights2.pdf?_ga=2.30172287.1526012639.1612470896-1122978126.1610142573.