Thread by @AmberForIowa

Did you know that Ohio created a school voucher program in 2014? Let's look at some facts about their program as #ialegis considers the @KimReynoldsIA voucher plan for #Iowa students 1/15

But first, did you know that school vouchers are not a concept that was created by educational experts; not proposed by parents; not even an idea politicians came up with. Nope. Vouchers are the brainchild of Milton Friedman, a radical free-market economist. 2/15

Friedman wrote an essay in 1955 entitled "The Role of Government in Education." He starts his essay by saying “I deplore segregation and racial prejudice.” (You know, if you have to say 'I'm not a racist, but...' you've already given yourself away, Milt.) 3/15

History pop quiz: What landmark civil rights case was decided in 1954 - the year before Friedman penned his essay? 4/15

Back to Ohio...In 2014 when the "EdChoice" voucher program was created, Ohio was ranked 14th in education in the US. That year they allotted $70 million to the program. By 2021, the program had ballooned to $163 million and Ohio had fallen to #27 in school quality. 5/15

Since the program began, Ohio taxpayers have put nearly ONE BILLION DOLLARS into their voucher program, only to see achievement tumble. (Could you imagine what Iowa schools could do with a $900 million investment, BTW?) 6/15

95% of the students using the Ohio voucher program are students who were never enrolled in a public school so rather than funding kids who are "escaping troubled schools," the program is just compensating families who are already privately enrolled. 7/15

Ohio students receiving vouchers performed more poorly on state standardized tests than their public school peers in nine out of 14 subject areas. 8/15

But the Ohio voucher program isn't just an educational failure. It is also driving property taxes higher in many districts. 9/15

When a student uses an Ohio EdChoice voucher for private school tuition, the money comes out of the public school district’s budget. For a student in kindergarten through eighth grade, the voucher is worth $4,650. For a high school student, that voucher is $6,000. 10/15

EdChoice has cost the Cleveland Heights-University Heights school district millions and is a major reason district officials put a $7.9 million property tax levy on the ballot in March 2020. 11/15

Proponents of vouchers say that they "increase competition" but how is an under-funded school supposed to "compete" for anything? Public schools have state and federal restrictions on how they spend their limited resources. 12/15

A public school can't just arbitrarily create a VR lab or build a new swimming pool to compete with private schools, especially if that means neglecting other expenditures like Special Education, English Language Learners, etc. 13/15

Vouchers are a scam. The idea has been around since before Sputnik & failed to produce significant positive results. They've already drained millions from public schools in Ohio. #Iowa has a chance to avoid the mistakes of states like Ohio by rejecting the voucher scam. 14/15

Contact the Iowa House Education Committee today and ask them to reject vouchers. 15/15 legis.iowa.gov/committees/com…

Source: ideastream.org/news/edchoice-…

Source: cleveland.com/opinion/2022/0…

Source: dissentmagazine.org/online_article…