Dismantling the wall between church and state: The case of public education 

Today, a relatively small but fast-growing number of the nation’s K-12 students (nearly half a million across 29 states and the District of Columbia) attends a private and perhaps religiously affiliated school thanks to their parents’ use of public financing mechanisms that include vouchers, tax-credit scholarships, and, in some cases, education savings accounts (EdChoice, 2018). 

We understand the impulse behind the decision to take advantage of such options. Indeed, one of us (Tina Cheuk) is now wrestling with that decision herself. As a direct beneficiary of excellent primary and secondary schools, funded predominately by local tax dollars, Tina strongly supports public schooling. Yet, as she moves toward entering her daughter’s name into the district lottery to get a seat for kindergarten, she is also keeping an eye open for private school options — including parochial schools, even though her family is not religious.  

As a scholar whose work aims to increase equitable learning opportunities for all students, Tina can’t help but worry about what happens when families, lured by vouchers and other financial incentives, leave the public schools. In the zero-sum game of educational funding, when families draw public funds to cover private school costs, the public schools lose dollars. And if the loss of dollars leads to a reduction in quality, then the decision to exit the system becomes more tempting. As more dollars leave the public schools, school quality declines further, more parents choose to leave, and so on, resulting in a downward spiral.