May 17, 2008
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School Vouchers


School vouchers are education tax dollars that typically are diverted from public schools in order to help subsidize the tuition of private and religious school students. While a few states and cities have limited voucher programs, the only federally funded program is a pilot program in Washington, D.C.

Why is This Important to Your School District?

Congress has consistently under-funded federal education programs, such as Title I and special education, while placing new requirements and accountability standards on public schools nationwide. Limited federal education dollars should be invested in public schools not diverted to private and religious schools that face no similar public accountability requirements.

NSBA's Position: Oppose Private School Vouchers

Let your Senators and Representatives know that you oppose draining critical resources from the nation's public schools in order to fund private school vouchers. You can use these talking points to help convey your message. For comprehensive information on vouchers, visit NSBA's Voucher Strategy Center website.

What's Happening Now in Congress?

President Bush has proposed 3 voucher plans in his FY2009 budget request: 1) a $300 million program dubbed “Pell Grants for Kids,” which would tie vouchers to the No Child Left Behind Act; 2) an increase in funding to $18 million for the Washington, D.C. voucher program that is set to expire this year; and, 3) a conversion of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program into an $800 million voucher experiment.

Education and Appropriations committee leadership have expressed opposition to the president’s voucher proposals. Appropriations committee action is expected in April.

Making a Difference: Another School Board Success Story
Local school board members have often made their opposition to private school vouchers known to members of Congress. In this Congress, school boards have helped to prevent the permanent extension of "education savings accounts", which permit tax free earnings to subsidize private and religious school tuition, and helped stop a proposed increase in funding for the Washington, D.C. voucher program.

Contact Us

If you are a school board member or state school boards association staff, please contact Kathleen Branch, NSBA's Manager of Federal Advocacy Programs, at 703-838-6735 or by e-mail at kbranch@nsba.org. 

If you are a Congressional staffer or a member of the media, please contact Marcus Egan, NSBA's Director of Federal Affairs, at 703-838-6707 or by e-mail at megan@nsba.org. 

Was This Page Helpful?

We want to hear from you.  Send an e-mail to Kathleen Branch, NSBA's Manager of Federal Advocacy Programs at kbranch@nsba.org. 

Please also visit NSBA's comprehensive Voucher Strategy Center for further information about school vouchers nationally, including background on existing programs, proposals and advocacy tools.


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