Should Cities and States Adopt School Voucher Programs?

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Now, more than ever before, because of global competition, a quality K-12 education is the key to individual success in college and the workplace and crucial to the overall health of our nation.  Enabling children to attend schools that best meet their needs results in higher graduation rates and therefore better preparation for life after school, whether in college or the workforce.  

Consider the following:  The Department of Labor reports that more than two-thirds of the jobs being created in our economy require post-secondary education.  Additionally, the Department of Labor has found that college graduates are the only ones whose real average weekly earnings have increased since 1979.  High school dropouts, on the other hand, have experienced a 23 percent decline in weekly earnings.  

The Alliance for Excellent Education estimates that dropouts from the class of 2007 will cost the country “nearly $329 billion in lost wages, taxes and productivity over their lifetimes.”  

Additionally, those who do not receive a quality education stand a much greater chance of being incarcerated.  A Department of Justice report found that 75 percent of state prison inmates and 59 percent of federal inmates did not complete high school.  

Research on the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) has demonstrated higher high school graduation rates for choice participants.  Additionally, research has shown that when it comes to urban minority children, Catholic schools have better high school graduation and college attendance rates than public schools.  

Now is the time to give all children the opportunity to attend high quality schools, whether public or private, that best meet their needs so that they will be better equipped to pursue their dreams and so that our countries economy will thrive in the global marketplace.