Reprinted from the NJEA Reporter, December 2003
Private schools accepting voucher students would have to be accountable to the public, wouldn't they? Not if you believe a 1998 U.S. Department of Education study* of private and religious schools.
The study found that most private schools would rather not participate in a voucher plan if it meant sacrificing control over admissions, testing, and instruction. Specifically, the DoE found:
* More than two-thirds " 68 percent " of private and religious schools would be unwilling to accept voucher students if they had to admit special needs students.
* Only one-third " 33 percent " would definitely accept voucher students if they had to administer state tests.
* Only one-quarter " 25 percent " of religious schools would definitely accept voucher students if they had to permit religious exemptions.
* Just over a third " 36 percent " would accept voucher students if they had to agree to random admissions.
Congress is poised to impose vouchers on Washington, D.C. Interestingly, the Washington Post recently interviewed the heads of a number of D.C.-area private schools and found stiff resistance to any government-imposed accountability. Open admissions, standardized tests, and financial disclosure all got a "thumbs down."
"I want to know who my kids are," huffed one headmaster.
The National Center for Education Statistics found that 75 percent of private schools do not offer special education programs. It also found that only 71 percent of private school teachers are licensed, compared to 97.4 percent of public school teachers.
*U.S. Department of Education. Planning and Evaluation Service (PES). Barriers, Benefits, and Costs of Using Private Schools to Alleviate Overcrowding in Public Schools, by Lana Muraskin. Stephanie Stullich, Project Officer. (Washington, DC: 1998)