Voucher bills introduced in several state legislatures

1/28/03 -- Vouchers and tuition tax credits will be on the agenda in several state legislatures.

While school board advocates have successfully beaten back voucher proposals in the past, they might have a harder time this year, particularly in states where pro-voucher legislators have assumed leadership positions.

The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling last June in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris upholding the constitutionality of the Cleveland voucher program also provides some momentum to voucher supporters, although the facts in that case can't necessarily be applied across the board.

However, with so many states facing budget crises, lawmakers might be less likely to endorse expensive new programs.

Among the states where voucher or tax credit bills are expected to be debated are Colorado, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Utah, and Virginia.

"It looks like vouchers will have a warmer reception in some state legislatures," says Marc Egan, director of NSBA's Voucher Strategy Center. "But just because there appears to be more support for debate on vouchers doesn't necessarily mean there is more support for actually enacting voucher programs. In these times of budget deficits and cutbacks, the cost of these programs could dominate the debate."

NSBA strongly opposes vouchers and similar proposals, such as tuition tax credits, that would drain public money from public schools.

In Texas and Colorado, voucher proposals targeted to particular school districts are likely to get the most attention, Egan predicts.

In Texas, several voucher bills are expected, but the only bill filed so far would create a pilot voucher program in the state's six largest school districts. This bill, introduced by Rep. Ron Wilson, would provide vouchers, worth up to $6,000 per child, to pay for tuition at religious or other private schools.

The vouchers would be limited to economically disadvantaged children who don't pass all sections on the state's standardized test and to children enrolling in prekindergarten through the first grade for the first time and assigned to a low-performing school.

"There is growing opposition to a voucher pilot," says Carolyn Boyle, coordinator of the Coalition for Public Schools.

"More than 20 voucher or tuition tax credit bills or floor amendments have been proposed since 1997, and we've defeated every one of them," Boyle asserts. But this latest bill "will be our greatest challenge."

Republicans have now taken control of both houses of the Texas legislature, as well as the governor's office, and the new House leader, Rep. Tom Craddick; Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who serves as Senate leader; and Gov. Rich Perry, all support vouchers.

Among the five voucher or tax credit bills introduced in the Colorado legislature, the two getting the most attention are a voucher bill introduced by Rep. Nancy Spence, which is limited to low-income students in Denver, and a statewide voucher program for low-income students in poorly performing schools introduced by Sen. John Evans.

Jane Urschel, associate executive director of the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB), believes the legislature will pass some sort of voucher bill. A tax credit bill is less likely, she says, with the state dealing with an $850 million shortfall.

CASB opposes the use of public money for nonpublic schools but believes that if such a program is enacted, Urschel says, "there must be accountability and local school boards must be in the loop."

The Evans bill would require students receiving vouchers to be subject to the same accountability measures as public school students and would give local school boards an opportunity to decide whether to let citizens vote on having a voucher program.

Egan notes that the voucher program in Florida also requires voucher students to be tested but their scores haven't been made public because of privacy concerns.

School boards in Louisiana also are gearing up for a major voucher battle.

State Senate President John Hainkel has announced plans to introduce a voucher bill when the legislative session opens in March, and several other legislators also are drafting bills.

The Louisiana School Boards Association (LSBA) and other public education advocates succeeded in fending off voucher legislation over the past couple of years, but "it's going to be difficult this year," says LSBA Executive Director W.F. "Freddie" Whitford. "We've got to be realistic."

Louisiana has "a strong parochial school constituency," he says, and voucher advocates view an existing early childhood education voucher program as "a foot in the door."

LSBA is working with teacher and superintendent groups to oppose vouchers and "will make a constitutional issue out of it if necessary," Whitford says.

In Arkansas, where the legislature went to work Jan. 13, Rep. Jeremy Hutchinson (R-Little Rock) introduced a bill to provide vouchers to parents of disabled children.

Although Hutchinson says his bill is primarily aimed at helping eligible children enroll at the Arkansas School for the Blind and the Arkansas School for the Deaf, his bill would allow children with disabilities to use public money to transfer to any private school.