close

EDITORIAL Educational savings account proposal is another voucher scheme

3 min read

Almost a decade ago, Australian economist John Quiggin formulated the notion of “zombie ideas.” In Quiggin’s estimation, these are propositions that have been proven to be wrong time and again, yet refuse to die. Trickle-down economics, to Quiggin, is a prime zombie idea.

Economics is hardly the only field that has its share of zombie ideas. Here’s one that’s been knocking around among policymakers and some educators for years, with no tangible evidence that it benefits students: Vouchers.

Mostly pushed by the right, vouchers have been peddled as a way to help students in low-achieving public schools be liberated from them and get a better education elsewhere. The thinking is that students can withdraw the annual per-pupil funding they receive, and spend it in other ways, such as enrolling in a private, parochial or charter school. But vouchers have largely taken on a bad odor, as critics have persuasively argued that they are a means to defund public education, and, crucially, defund schools that are already on the ropes, rather than substantially help students get a better education.

The zombie idea of vouchers has been on the march lately in Pennsylvania, but it’s taken on a slightly different form. Bills that have been knocking around the state House and Senate would allow students to establish what have been described as educational savings accounts. Anything described as a “savings account” certainly sounds sober and prudent. But proponents of educational savings accounts argue that they should be used not only to cover the expenses of attending another institution, but for tutoring, supplies or “qualified education expenses,” whatever those might be. They also would allow any leftover money to be used to help cover the costs of higher education.

The Senate bill would allow students in the lowest-performing 15 percent of elementary and secondary schools to draw from these accounts. Estimates are that $500 million would be steered away from already cash-starved public schools if the plan became law.

Boosters of private and religious schools and free-market fundamentalists have gotten behind the bills, but they’ve been met with almost universal condemnation from school boards and administrators around Pennsylvania. They argue, among other things, that affluent families that can already afford private education would be handed a windfall, and the accounts could even hurt economically disadvantaged families who would not be able to cover all the expenses of a private school or charter school from the money within them.

Above all, though, these accounts would contain public money that could be spent without the same kind of financial or academic accountability that public schools are required to provide. As the Pennsylvania School Boards Association points out, “Public schools are accountable on numerous levels for compliance with state and federal laws and regulations, and are held to strict standards that measure student achievement and academic progress. Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Act and Right-to-Know laws apply to public schools who must make available information regarding finances, operations and academic performance.”

The likelihood of this becoming law anytime soon is unlikely, since Gov. Tom Wolf has vowed to veto anything that would resemble a voucher program. But Wolf will not be governor forever, even if the odds of his re-election this November are reasonably good.

But this, after all, is a zombie idea. And like all zombies, odds are it will keep going and going.

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $3.75/week.

Subscribe Today