Politics

Page history last edited by chris.m.kane@... 15 years, 2 months ago

Abstract

School vouchers have been one of the most politically divisive public policy issues relating to education in recent memory. “A recent poll shows that 42 percent of adults favor voucher initiatives while 56 percent oppose them” (Education Week, n.d.), indicating that there is both substantial support and substantial opposition to this concept. Only a few years ago the future of vouchers was one of the highest visibility public policy debates and once voucher advocates won the Supreme Court case of Zelman v. Simmons-Harris which established the constitutionality of the voucher program in Ohio, the future of vouchers seemed bright. Nonetheless, vouchers are no longer a central aspect of the policy discussion, and have been marginalized as a tool for reform as No Child Left Behind and charter schools have taken center stage in education reform. This paper details the political history of school vouchers in the United States and aims to provide an understanding of where vouchers stand in the current political landscape.

Politics of Vouchers (click here for paper)

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