Dennis Kucinich on School Vouchers
posted in Candidates, Dennis Kucinich (D), Education vouchers, Issues |Original source: http://www.kucinichforcongress.com/issues/vouchers.php
Vouchers
Vouchers are no solution for students in poor families, no solution for education in America. School vouchers might seem a relatively benign way to increase the options poor parents have for educating their children. In fact, they pose a serious threat to values that are vital to the health of American democracy.
Vouchers represent an attempt to disestablish not only public education, but the entire public realm. Even in Cleveland and Milwaukee, where voucher programs are in place, there have been no tangible results in student achievement. Instead, the programs have diverted public money away from the vast majority of public school students. In most cases, these are the students who need it the most.
In Congress, I have voted consistently against legislation on school vouchers. I voted NO on HR 4380 to allow vouchers in Washington DC schools, and NO on HR 2746 to allow states to use certain federal funds designated for elementary and secondary education to provide vouchers to low-income families to send children to private schools. Voters, for the last 30 years, have rejected vouchers every time they’ve been proposed.
Oftentimes, funds for vouchers compete with funds for overall improvements in America’s public schools. For this reason, teachers, parents, and the general public have been long opposed to the programs. As a nation, we must fight to improve public schools and oppose alternatives that divert attention, energy, and resources from efforts to reduce class size, enhance teacher quality, and provide every student with books, computers, and safe and orderly schools.
