K-12 vouchers do not improve student outcomes.

• A 2018 University of Virginia study found no benefit for students attending private schools, including for students from low-income families and urban settings.
• The Brookings Institution reviewed voucher studies from four states and found that students who took advantage of these programs to attend private schools performed worse on tests than similar students who did not attend private schools.
• The National Bureau of Economic Research found “a large proportion of the most rigorous studies suggest that being awarded a voucher has an effect that is statistically indistinguishable from zero.”

Vouchers divert much-needed resources from public schools.

• Virginia already severely underfunds its public schools, ranking 33rd in the nation for state spending per student in pre–K–12 education. Diverting funding to private schools will exacerbate these financial challenges for public schools, leading to teacher and staff layoffs, program cuts, school closures, and more.
• In Arizona, universal vouchers ran over 1,000% over budget, ballooning from a projected $33 million to over $700 million in year two, contributing to a $1.4 billion state deficit.
• In Iowa, the first two years of its voucher program cost over $68 million more than projected, draining more public dollars than lawmakers promised.

Vouchers increase segregation and discrimination, do not impact satisfaction or safety.

• Virginia experimented with vouchers during Massive Resistance in an effort to reject school integration efforts. Voucher programs in Indiana have tended to favor higher-income white families, and in Louisiana, have led to white families leaving more diverse schools.
• Private schools participating in voucher programs are generally free to accept or reject students based on perceived at-risk status, academic ability, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity. As of 2025, most voucher programs still do not include protections for LGBTQ+ students. This allows private schools to select only the most advantaged students and reject children with the greatest need of support.
• Participating private schools are not required to set tuition at the voucher value. The voucher program proposed by Governor Youngkin but rejected by the General Assembly in 2025 would have given grants of $5,000 to eligible students. Still, Virginia’s average private school tuition costs are over $13,000 for elementary schools and over $17,000 for middle and high schools. When you factor in additional costs of transportation and uniforms, this effectively excludes the lowest-income families from being able to participate.
• On average, parents of students who switch to private schools with vouchers do not see a change in satisfaction or sense of school safety.
• A 2023 review of voucher-funded schools in Pennsylvania found that 100% had policies that could be used to discriminate against students, with nearly 20% explicitly targeting LGBTQ+ youth.

Vouchers lack oversight and waste public dollars

• In 2024, Ohio spent nearly $1 billion on its private school voucher program. At the same time, lawmakers removed requirements for voucher schools to report spending or administer the same standardized tests as public schools.
• In Arizona, one school that closed due to financial mismanagement reopened as a voucher-accepting private school and then shut down again, leaving students and public dollars in limbo. Arizona’s universal voucher program also ran over 1,000% over budget, growing from a projected $33 million to over $700 million in its second year, contributing to a $1.4 billion state deficit.
• Voucher programs have also led to widespread misuse of public funds. In Florida, families used over $1.2 million in voucher funds on televisions, gaming consoles, and theme park tickets.
• In Arizona, officials uncovered over $110,000 in funding fraud involving students who didn’t exist or lived in other states.