The clearly documented racist origins of vouchers could be dismissed as irrelevant if modern voucher programs had corrected these past wrongs. However, voucher programs today continue to perpetuate school segregation, systemic inequities, and a worsening opportunity gap for our children of color.
Does “school choice” truly provide families choice, or is it possible that many families who seek educational choices for their children are being sold a bill of goods?
Arizona is the cautionary tale of what can (and will) go wrong as school privatization spreads through the states.
In the face of sudden closures, Arizona schools mobilized instantly to address these basic needs, ensuring food, learning, and a sense of community would not lapse in this time of crisis.
In this installment, we dig into the nation’s very first voucher program — School Tuition Organizations, or STO vouchers — passed right here in Arizona.
In 2009, the Arizona Supreme Court unanimously declared Arizona’s school voucher programs unconstitutional, stating that vouchers violate a constitutional ban against diverting taxpayer dollars to private and religious schools.
Many Arizonans first learned about Betsy DeVos and private school vouchers (or “ESAs”) in 2017, but what most don’t know is that DeVos and other privatizers have been pushing these and other vouchers in Arizona for over a decade.
