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The private school voucher program enacted by Congress in the so-called \u201cOne Big Beautiful Bill\u201d is part of the Trump administration\u2019s broader scheme to dismantle public education and strip protections from our most vulnerable students. Because the federal government cannot compel states to redirect public dollars to private schools, the program requires each governor to opt in. The message to governors everywhere is clear: Resist.<\/p>\n
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It is with deep concern, then, that we learned of Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s stated intent to opt New York into the program.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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New York does not have a private school voucher program, and there are good reasons for that. Weakening public schools weakens our democracy, since public education is one of democracy\u2019s most important cornerstones.<\/p>\n
Vouchers\u00a0first appeared in the segregated South, where white families used them to flee integrated public schools for so-called \u201csegregation academies\u201d after the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education\u00a0that separate schooling is \u201cinherently unequal.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Students using vouchers are generally more affluent, attend private schools and often take advantage of legacy admissions.<\/a> Private schools that accept voucher dollars have been known to routinely discriminate<\/a> against children with disabilities, LGBTQ+ students and families, multilingual learners and economically disadvantaged students who have often been unfairly subjected to a legacy of underfunded schools and poverty.<\/p>\n Make the Times Union a Preferred Source on Google to see more of our journalism when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Despite what voucher proponents would have New Yorkers believe, there is no \u201cprivate\u201d or \u201cfree\u201d money in the federal program. It is structured as a \u201ctax credit scholarship\u201d that allows individuals to redirect what they would otherwise owe in federal taxes to a scholarship granting organization (SGO), which in turn distributes\u00a0vouchers to families. Contributors to SGOs receive a 100% credit on their federal taxes, up to $1,700 annually, unlike charitable donations that trigger a minimal tax deduction or credit.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In addition, every dollar that goes to the federal voucher program is a dollar that doesn\u2019t make it into the U.S. Treasury to support public goods like education, senior services, improved public transportation, etc. With so many public schools already underfunded, including in New York, there\u2019s no excuse for poaching public funding.<\/p>\n Some governors have fallen for the false rhetoric peddled by voucher supporters that public schools will benefit from this program. Even before federal regulations are released, the voucher law itself provides plenty of clarity: SGOs cannot send voucher funds to public schools, they can only distribute\u00a0vouchers\u00a0to individual students.\u00a0<\/p>\n The vast majority of SGOs already set up in many states and ready to pounce on these public dollars only fund families choosing private education \u2014 as well as keeping up to 10% of the money<\/a> for themselves. The crumbs that privatization may leave in its wake for public school students will overwhelmingly be used to pay private companies for things like tutoring and computers. That\u2019s because public schools do not charge for the vast majority of the services they provide.<\/p>\n Private school\u00a0vouchers\u00a0consistently undermine the notion of equal educational opportunity, which is the core principle behind the guarantee of public education in New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Dr. Hazel N. Dukes, whom we lost just over a year ago, was a tireless champion of public education and of every child\u2019s civil right to learn. Her life\u2019s work, and the work of generations of civil rights leaders before her, is the reason New York\u2019s constitution promises a sound, well-funded, public school system that welcomes every child. Diverting public resources to private institutions that are free to discriminate is a retreat from that promise.<\/p>\n