The new wave of private school vouchers
For decades, private school vouchers, often referred to as school choice programs, were limited to low-income students. But recently, several states have passed universal voucher programs that any family, regardless of income, can use to pay their kids’ private school tuition.
“These types of universal programs are likely supporting a lot of families who never attended public schools and provide kind of a subsidy for middle-class families who maybe already send their kids to private school or homeschool their children,” said Huriya Jabbar, professor of education policy at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education.
On the show today, Jabbar explains the history of private school vouchers, what makes the latest wave of these programs different from traditional school vouchers, and why some believe private school vouchers undermine the purpose of public education in the United States. Plus, what does Milton Friedman have to do with all of this?
Then, we’ll look at changes by Georgia’s election board that could make it easier to challenge results in November. And, Kai Ryssdal explains the ins and outs of how the Bureau of Labor Statistics revises its job data.
Later, we’ll hear from listeners about free garden seeds and American soccer in the ’70s. Plus, this week’s answer to the Make Me Smart question comes from Reema Khrais, host of Marketplace’s podcast “This Is Uncomfortable.”
Here’s everything we talked about today:
- “Millions of campaign dollars aimed at tilting school voucher battle are flowing into state races” from AP News
- “Arizona School Voucher Program Causes Budget Meltdown” from ProPublica
- “Public Funding, Private Education” from The New York Times
- “The new and radical school voucher push is quietly unwinding two centuries of U.S. education tradition” from the Brookings Institution
- “Which States Have Private School Choice?” from Education Week
- “Georgia election board approves another rule that could disrupt certification” from WABE
- “Election Deniers Secretly Pushed Rule That Would Make It Easier to Delay Certification of Georgia’s Election Results” from ProPublica
- “Fed Confronts Up to a Million US Jobs Vanishing in Revision” from Bloomberg
We want to hear your answer to the Make Me Smart question. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email us at makemesmart@marketplace.org.
Stories You Might Like
None of us is as smart as all of us.
No matter how bananapants your day is, “Make Me Smart” is here to help you through it all— 5 days a week.
It’s never just a one-way conversation. Your questions, reactions, and donations are a vital part of the show. And we’re grateful for every single one.
