Should religious schools be an option? Should they receive public funding? Are they bad for community cohesion? What should we make of the charge that they indoctrinate? How should they be regulated? People disagree on the answers to these questions. Some maintain that religious schools should not be permitted. If parents want to raise their…

The U.S. Department of Education has projected enrollment declines over the next decade, leading to budget cuts for school districts, which will be particularly impactful in urban and rural areas serving vulnerable students. As federal COVID-19 funds expire, districts will face challenges in cutting costs, potentially leading to layoffs or school…

In California, a half century after the landmark "Serrano v. Priest" decision overturning the state's public school finance system because of the inequality between the state's school districts, a significant amount of wealth-based inequality in per-pupil expenditures continues to exist. One of the sources of this inequality is the…

One of the key features of the Dutch education system is freedom of education--freedom to establish schools and organize teaching. Almost 70% of schools in the Netherlands are administered by private school boards, and all schools are government funded equally. This allows school choice. Using an instrument to identify private school attendance,…

Universal pre-kindergarten (UPK) is a popular reform in West Virginia, offering part-time readiness-oriented instruction for four-year-olds and some three-year-olds with special needs. The reform joins public school sites and community partners (private preschool and/or Head Start resources) in the goal of pre-kindergarten for all eligible…

Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB) staff created an index of educational outcomes to compare results from state to state. This report is an analysis of that study. A list of the overall rankings is included on the back page of this report. The index is based on a combination of objective qualitative measures. The data comes from national…

Presents historical data to show that Joseph Chamberlain's decision in 1896 to support denominational schools, after he had campaigned against them for years, was not as abrupt as some writers have argued. (JF)

Research findings show public schools benefit from private-school vouchers. Competition is good for learning. When public schools are faced with the possibility of large student transfers and a corresponding loss of funding, the schools make improvements both in how and what they teach. (MMU)

A system of diversity and choice within the public schools might work, not simply to stem the flight from the public schools, but actually to begin to reverse that trend. (Author/IRT)

The choice that a voucher proposition offers is between weakening the public schools still further by encouraging flight from them and strengthening the public schools by recalling them to their historic purpose of promoting the ideals of the democratic civic community. (Author)

This report argues, using Arizona as an illustration, for a market-based school funding paradigm characterized by per-pupil allocations that follow each student to the school of their choice. The report explains what is wrong with the current system, compares the market-based approach to others that have been proposed, and demonstrates how…

In this background paper, the author provides a brief history of the educational voucher and outlines various suggested voucher plans. Included is a discussion of the plan that was tried at Alum Rock, California, and the plans that were voted on in statewide referendums in Michigan and California. The author provides a list of the pros and cons of…

Surveyed African Americans about whether educational vouchers are good for African American children. Most respondents were college faculty and administrators. Respondents voiced opinions for and against vouchers. Some worried that vouchers would lead to resegregation and suggested that funds were better spent upgrading public schools. Others felt…

Reviews three ways of discussing and analyzing public and private educational choice: by theoretical issues, evaluation of existing choice programs, and inferences drawn from existing private-public school differences. At present, very little is known about choice's potential effects. Research should move carefully, experimenting with constrained…

Article considered the financing of nonpublic schools as well as public schools and the conflict of the church state relationship. (RK)