Vouchers Do Not Adequately Serve Low-Income Students

Private school vouchers do not adequately serve low-income students because the cost of tuition and fees at schools that accept vouchers generally exceeds the amount of the voucher, making voucher schools unaffordable for most low-income families.

A 2016 Government Accountability Office report found that 13 out of 22 voucher programs it surveyed did not place a cap on private school tuition, allowing private schools to charge more than the voucher award. Thus, only families with the money to cover the cost of the rest of the tuition, and additional expenditures such as uniforms, transportation, books, and other supplies can use the vouchers. In the end, the families most likely to use a voucher are the ones who could already afford to send their kids to private schools.

And for many low-income students, traveling outside their county or district to attend school every day – especially in rural areas – is not feasible. This is also true in urban areas. Studies have shown that students of color and low-income students who attend schools of choice have longer commutes than students who live in more affluent neighborhoods. A study of students living in cities with many school choice options found that black students have longer school commutes in both time and distance than white students.