Thread by @reveal

1/ Today, we're unveiling our first Reveal Local Labs project.

We teamed up with @FOX8NOLA, @WWNO and @NOLAnews to investigate whether Louisiana's school choice program was delivering the education results leaders promised when they created it in 2012. revealnews.org/article/louisi…

2/ Our investigation found that seven years after it launched, the $40-million-a-year Louisiana Scholarship Program has failed to live up to its billing.

3/ The program was based on a big promise: It would free countless low-income kids from the worst public schools by allowing them to use state tax dollars in the form of vouchers to pay tuition at private schools, where they’d get a better education.

4/ Instead, the nearly 6,900 students who’ve left public schools have been placed into a system with numerous failing private schools that receive little oversight.

We analyzed state data and found ...

5/ Not a single school in the voucher program received an A or B grade. Three received a C. Of the remaining schools, 19 got a D and 15 got an F, based on the Louisiana Department of Education rating system.

6/ Students left “C” public schools to attend private schools with “D” and “F” ratings.

7/ In almost all of the private schools with a score assigned by the state, voucher students performed below the statewide average for their peers in public schools.

8/ The voucher system, which was designed as an exit hatch for lower-income students from failing public schools, has in many ways morphed into a lifeline for some private and parochial schools.

9/ Critics say that instead of providing a better education for poor kids, the program is essentially propping up private schools that would be forced to close without the infusion of tax dollars provided by vouchers.

10/ Former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal repeatedly praised the program’s performance.

Meanwhile, one education expert claimed that “we’re setting up generations for failure.”

11/ For more about this story, check out:

The story from @NOLANews: nola.com/education/2019…

Video from @FOX8NOLA: fox8live.com/2019/05/08/cos…

Audio from @WWNO: wwno.org/post/cost-choi…

12/ This is the first story in this series. Look for others rolling out later this week.

13/ Reveal’s Local Labs initiative, launched last year with support from @knightfdn, supports lasting investigative reporting collaborations in communities across the United States.

More about it here: revealnews.org/local/labs

14/ To learn more about all the ways we’re supporting local news, check out our site: revealnews.org/local/

15/ And to stay up-to-date on all the work we do, please be sure to subscribe to our newsletter. revealnews.org/newsletter