Note this upcoming webinar from the folks at NEPC may be of interest to some readers.

Webinar: The School Voucher Illusion View this email in your browser Tuesday, October 10, 2023 Newsletter Webinar: The School Voucher Illusion SHARE THIS EMAIL: Each year, states funnel millions of dollars that would otherwise have gone to public education into private schools where, on average, student outcomes are worse and costs to the taxpayer are higher. Despite the fact that voucher-accepting private schools neither improve student performance nor reduce expenses, these programs continue to grow at an unprecedented rate, and are now available in more than 30 states plus the District of Columbia. A webinar to be held October 19th at 2 pm ET will explore one reason why the push to expand vouchers has been so successful despite evidence that these policies have not improved education: Proponents falsely market vouchers as an equity-focus reform. The webinar guests will be the editors of The School Voucher Illusion: Exposing the Pretense of Equity, published earlier this year by Teachers College Press: NEPC director Kevin Welner of the University of Colorado; NEPC fellow Gary Orfield of UCLA and the Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles; and NEPC fellow Luis Huerta of Teachers College, Columbia University. Janel George of Georgetown Law School will moderate the discussion. “There is a strong tendency for vouchers to be introduced as a strategy for offering poor children of color the choices that many more White students can enjoy,” the editors write in their book’s introduction. “Over time, however, this initial justification tends to be displaced by the goal of protecting and expanding vouchers without any special focus on children who are marginalized or minoritized.” The book traces the history of vouchers to their origins in the segregationist movement that sprang up in reaction to the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, to the shift toward selling vouchers as a way to advance civil rights, to their current function as subsidies for a broad swath of advantaged families—with minimal antidiscrimination protections. The webinar, which is free to attend, is hosted by Public Funds Public Schools, a nonprofit advocacy organization that opposes the use of public funds for private schools. It is part of an ongoing series of virtual events focused on school vouchers. TC Press is supporting this webinar by offering 15% off plus free shipping on The School Voucher Illusion for purchases made on their website, using the discount code PFPS. To register for the webinar, click here now. NEPC Resources on Vouchers -> This newsletter is made possible in part by support provided by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice: http://www.greatlakescenter.org The National Education Policy Center (NEPC), a university research center housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education, sponsors research, produces policy briefs, and publishes expert third-party reviews of think tank reports. NEPC publications are written in accessible language and are intended for a broad audience that includes academic experts, policymakers, the media, and the general public. Our mission is to provide high-quality information in support of democratic deliberation about education policy.  We are guided by the belief that the democratic governance of public education is strengthened when policies are based on sound evidence and support a multiracial society that is inclusive, kind, and just. Visit us at: http://nepc.colorado.edu/ Copyright 2023 National Education Policy Center. All rights reserved.

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National Education Policy Center
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