Private Schools Where 100% of Students Use Vouchers Barely Face Any Oversight — ProPublica

 Private schools — even those that are heavily dependent on taxpayer funding — often operate without the scrutiny public schools are subject to. Following the money at one Milwaukee private school reveals an opaque world with little oversight...

https://www.propublica.org/article/private-schools-vouchers-wisconsin-atlas-preparatory 

 

Time to tear the #voucher system up by its abhorrent roots #education

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LZb7BY4yIDQ

 

Public school groups urge Whitmer to reject Trump school choice program

The head of the K-12 Education Alliance of Michigan, Robert McCann, said that would violate the Michigan Constitution's prohibition on spending public money on private schools. 

 “Instead of money going directly to private schools, which would be blocked by Michigan's constitution, it creates a third party that the money goes to first and then ultimately ends up benefiting the private school anyway,” McCann said…

 https://www.michiganpublic.org/education/2026-05-11/public-school-groups-urge-whitmer-to-reject-trump-school-choice-program

Billionaires Are Dismantling Public Education in Texas. Your State Could be next

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oUItPqK8P0

 

Josh Cowen: How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold School Vouchers | FFRF Convention 2024 - YouTube

Josh Cowen speaks out against school voucher programs, warning that they undermine public education and exacerbate inequality. He explains that vouchers were initially framed as "school choice" but have become a tool for advancing Christian nationalism and defunding public schools. Cowen argues that vouchers benefit private, often religious, schools at the expense of vulnerable students, and he advocates for investing in public education to ensure better outcomes for all students.

Josh Cowen, a professor of education policy at Michigan State University, is the author of the new book, "The Privateers: How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold School Vouchers." His popular writing on education politics, school choice and culture wars has appeared in daily newspapers, "The Hechinger Report," "The New Republic" and more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIthoF-hlnM 

SC Supreme Court strikes down voucher scheme giving tax dollars to private schools

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L30C93U0z7o

Ohio Will Use Taxpayer Money to Construct Private Religious Schools — ProPublica

The state is giving millions in taxpayer dollars directly to private schools to help them renovate and expand their campuses. It may be the next frontier in the push to increase the use of school vouchers, proponents say...

https://www.propublica.org/article/ohio-taxpayer-money-funding-private-religious-schools

The Case Against School Vouchers (Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freethought Radio podcast)

FFRF Legal Director Patrick Elliot and FFRF Legal Fellow Hirsh Joshi join us to talk about state-church developments in Utah, Alabama, Colorado, Missouri, Tennessee and Minnesota. 

Then, we speak with Michigan State University Professor Josh Cowen about his new book, The Privateers: How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold School Vouchers.

Interview: 

https://ffrf.org/news/freethought-radio/freethought-today-september-12-2024/

How Billionaires Created a Culture War to Sell School Vouchers w/ Josh Cowen (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)

In this episode, Brad Onishi interviews Dr. Joshua Cowen, a professor of education policy at Michigan State University, on the controversial issue of school vouchers in the US. 

They discuss the historical context of the voucher movement, tracing it back to economist Milton Friedman and its intersection with the Brown v. Board decision. The dialogue highlights the ideological motivations behind vouchers, linking them to conservative Christian nationalism and libertarian views on government regulation. 

Dr. Cowen offers a critical analysis of recent voucher programs in Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Washington, D.C., presenting evidence of their negative effects on academic outcomes. The conversation also delves into the cultural and political forces driving the voucher agenda, especially during the Trump administration, emphasizing the shift from evidence-based arguments to ideological ones.

Interview: 

https://www.straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/episodes/how-billionaires-created-a-culture-war-to-sell-school-vouchers-w-josh-cowen/

Christian pastors were told to open private schools since taxpayers would foot the bill

At a training session for future pastors, one Christian speaker urged the audience to have their churches launch their own private schools. 

It was easy, he said, because taxpayers were subsidizing his church's school in Florida to the tune of millions of dollars. More importantly, it gave them the chance to win new child converts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC8TRrrLuo4

Christian Nationalists Are Opening Private Schools. Taxpayers Are Funding Them. – Mother Jones

A prerequisite for students and their families to attend some of the schools that currently receive voucher money is that they accept Jesus Christ as their lord and savior. In March, the education blog Notes from the Chalkboard highlighted one such school. Students attending North Carolina's Daniel Christian Academy, are trained to "enter the Seven Mountains of Influence," a main tenet of a Christian Nationalist movement known as the New Apostolic Reformation. Its adherents believe that the faithful are called to seek Christian control of the "seven mountains" of society: family, education, media, government, business, arts & entertainment, and religion. Many New Apostolic Reformation followers believe that waging "spiritual warfare" is justified in achieving these goals, though Daniel Christian Academy specifies that its endorsement of the Seven Mountains Mandate "in no way includes violence or manipulation at any level."…

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/06/christian-nationalists-are-opening-private-schools-taxpayers-are-funding-them/

The Legacy of Segregation Academies — ProPublica

"Join us to discuss how private schools known as "segregation academies" in the Deep South continue to preserve divisions within communities..."

https://www.propublica.org/events/the-legacy-of-segregation-academies

GOP states are embracing vouchers. Wealthy parents are benefitting. - POLITICO

Most of the beneficiaries are incoming kindergarteners or students already enrolled in private schools...

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/22/inside-school-voucher-debate-00128377

Trolling Moms for Liberty during a BOOK BANNING

This is mostly satirical, but the last few minutes shows right winger Chris Rufo — originator of the whole panic over critical race theory and book bans, and "good Catholic" — explain that it's all about turning the public against public schools so that money can go to private corporations to run schools instead.

And note that those private schools often don't need to be accredited or meet any standards. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0XWn6S1_iA

Arkansas' taxpayer-funded giveaway to private Christian schools

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSMzKpo_i2w

An Arkansas voucher program gives millions of dollars to private Christian schools

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhwR8MNucx0

TEA Commissioner Mike Morath Has Allowed Underperforming Charter Schools to Expand — ProPublica

The granting of waivers to charter networks that have too many failing schools raises red flags as lawmakers returned to Austin on Monday for a special session of the Legislature to consider helping Texas parents cover private school tuition with state dollars, said David DeMatthews, a professor and education policy researcher at the University of Texas at Austin...

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/10/texas-mike-morath-underperforming-charter-schools-expand/

Federal judge halts Betsy DeVos’s controversial rule sending coronavirus aid to private schools -- The Washington Post

A federal judge in Washington state temporarily blocked Education Secretary Betsy DeVos from enforcing a controversial rule that directs states to give private schools a bigger share of federal coronavirus aid than Congress had intended.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/08/23/federal-judge-halts-betsy-devoss-controversial-rule-sending-coronavirus-aid-private-schools/

ACLU appeal aims to keep Michigan taxpayers’ money out of the hands of private schools - Daily Kos

The ACLU of Michigan has filed an appeal with the state supreme court in an attempt to stop a Republican-backed effort to divert public money into the hands of private schools. ....
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1815855

How Betsy DeVos Is Reshaping Federal Education Policy (Alex Schroeder, On Point)

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has made headlines recently for plans to further shake up policies regarding for-profit higher education.

She's proposed a new rule that critics say would make it harder for defrauded students to seek debt relief. She's also taken aim at so-called gainful employment regulations put into place by the Obama administration, which forced for-profit schools to prove students they enrolled were able to secure decent jobs.

It's a fitting time for a step back to look at DeVos' impact so far and the trajectory for education in the country under her watch.
Interview:
http://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2018/07/30/betsy-devos-deregulation-for-profit-school-choice