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History of Vouchers

Page history last edited by ejh381@mail.harvard.edu 15 years, 2 months ago

Abstract, "School Vouchers in  American History: A Summary" by Elizabeth Heymann

 

School vouchers, a popular educational reform effort in the late 1980's and 1990's, are a form of decentralization in public education, which attempt to use the free market and parental choice to improve the education landscape through the creation of new, excellent private schools, and the dramatic improvement of existing public schools.  This paper details the origins of the arguments for vouchers as targeted reforms for low-income, urban students, and illustrates how voucher programs in the United States have been shaped by political alliances, different educational ideologies, research, and the Supreme Court. 

 

Click here for the complete paper

 

The Following sources may be useful for further research on vouchers and their history:

 

1.  Special Voucher Report

http://www.rethinkingschools.org/special_reports/voucher_report/index.shtml

 

Series of publications from Rethinking Schools, an anti-voucher publication based in Milwaukee, about potential pitfalls of voucher programs. 

 

2.  Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice

http://www.friedmanfoundation.org/friedmans/writings.jsp

 

Publications from a foundation established to advance the ideals and theories of school choice espoused by Milton Friedman, the first prominent advocate of school voucher programs. 

 

3.  Center for Education Reform

http://www.edreform.com/Issues/School_Choice/?School_Choice_Research

 

Various research reports and evaluations of voucher programs in Washington, D.C., Florida, and Milwaukee.

 

4.  Review of Chubb and Moe’s book, Politics, Markets, and America’s Schools

http://glass.ed.asu.edu/gene/papers/chubbrev.html

 

Gene Glass of Arizona State University and Dewayne Matthews of the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education review Chubb and Moe’s influential book and analyze its argument. 

 

5.  School Vouchers: Publicly Funded Programs in Cleveland and Milwaukee

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d01914.pdf

 

United States General Accounting Office prepared a report evaluating the success of the Cleveland and Milwaukee programs for U.S. Senator Judd Gregg.

 

6.  Special Voucher Report

http://www.rethinkingschools.org/special_reports/voucher_report/index.shtml

 

Series of publications from Rethinking Schools, an anti-voucher publication based in Milwaukee, about potential pitfalls of voucher programs. 

 

7.  National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education

http://www.ncspe.org/

 

Columbia Teachers College’s Center for the Study of Privatization in Education provides links to research on school choice initiatives. 

 

8.  Zelman v. Simmons-Harris

http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/pdf/00-1751P.ZO

 

The United States Supreme Court’s decision regarding the constitutionality of the Cleveland voucher program.  The decision, written by William Rehnquist, concludes that allowing voucher money to be paid as tuition to parochial schools not does violate the Establishment Clause. 

 

9.  First Amendment Center

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/faclibrary/case.aspx?case=Zelman_v_Simmons_Harris

 

The First Amendment Center provides resources with additional information about the Zelman v. Simmon-Harris decision, including media articles and commentary.

 

10.  School Choice:  Doing it the Right Way Makes a Difference

http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/reports/2003/11education_fixauthorname/20031116schoolchoicereport.pdf

 

This research report from the Brookings Institute and the National Working Commission on Choice in K-12 Education discusses the importance of systemic design in effective school choice programs. 

 

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