Comment from Indivisible Lincoln Square
Indivisible Lincoln SquareOpposeIndividual
Summary: The commenter argues that the proposed federal voucher program will divert billions of dollars from public schools to unaccountable private schools and scholarship organizations. They express concern that this will lead to waste, fraud, and a lack of resources for the public education system.
Public funds must be for public schools that serve all children. No regulations can fix the fundamental flaw in new Section 25F of the Internal Revenue Code, as added by Section 70411 of Public Law 119-21, 139 Stat. 72, namely that it will result in billions of dollars being diverted from the US Treasury and handed over to unaccountable private schools and scholarship organizations that do not answer to the public.
The waste, fraud and abuse in existing K-12 voucher programs in states around the country is rampant, particularly those structured as tax credit scholarship programs or education savings accounts, where private organizations serve as middleman through which millions of dollars flow with little oversight or accountabiliy.
This is the opposite of what good education policy looks like: where tax dollars are spent with careful stewardship to ensure a high-quality educational experience for all children.
As a result of this federal voucher program, our public schools will be starved of the resources they need to educate our children to become life-long learners, problem-solvers, self-confident individuals and, crucially, active participants in our democracy.