What people are saying:

• Secular Education Association: Need proof?

  A Washington Post analysis found that about 91% of voucher recipients attend religious schools:
  https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/06/03/tax-dollars-religious-schools/

  Americans United describes voucher programs as diverting public funds away from public schools and into private, mostly religious schools:
  https://www.au.org/how-we-protect-religious-freedom/issues/vouchers/

  The National Coalition for Public Education warned that private schools are exempt from many civil-rights protections, including IDEA and Title IX, and voucher programs can force taxpayers to support religious instruction they do not agree with:

  The National Coalition for Public Education Sign-on Letter to the US Senate Appropriation Committee Urging Opposition to Continued Funding of Private School Voucher Program for the District of Columbia

  Project 2025 and the GOP platform explicitly push “universal school choice” as a long-term goal:
  https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/project-2025-and-gop-aim-for-universal-school-choice-what-would-that-look-like/2024/08

  • Facebook User: Secular Education Association that’s their choice last I heard
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User it shouldn’t be.
  • Facebook User: Secular Education Association I think choice is great.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User subsidizing the rich is not choice.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User helping the middle and lower classes is a good idea. We just disagree about the necessity of a good education.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User Don’t lecture anyone about the ‘necessity of a good education’ while this entire policy strategy relies on defunding the public schools to buy country-club tuition for the rich and letting Lifewise Academy disrupt the remaining crumbs of the school day. You don’t want education-you want a tax-sheltered playground for the wealthy…..
  • Facebook User: Facebook User what is your definition of a good education?
  • Facebook User: Facebook User why isn’t it necessary?
  • Facebook User: Facebook User It’s a fantastic choice if your goal is welfare for the wealthy private school parents and leaving everybody else scraping up the leftover crumbs
  • Facebook User: Facebook User not I. I want more children to have an opportunity to attend good schools- not being tied down to the school in their district. I worked in an independent school, sent my children to independent schools and I have seen what these opportunities did for my children and now grandchildren. Schools where I live are terrible. I’ve seen many independent schools in my area provide amazing financial aid so that middle and lower class families can afford a great education. Having vouchers would only provide more opportunities, and children shouldn’t be forced to attend a sub par school when there can be chances for them to excel. The rich people don’t need vouchers, but other families really do. You know nothing about how great it can be.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User I’ve attended private and public schools. My parents paid for it. Then my Mom moved me into a really wealthy neighborhood so I could attend one of the best public schools in the area. Paid huge taxes to do so.
    Vouchers largely help the RICH. They largely steal from POOR communities.
    Private schools can discriminate.

    So what happens when everyone can choose but most importantly- Private schools AREN’T FORCED to accept everyone? A class system where the poor get low end charter schools or online schools. And the good schools? All private and almost no poor- public schools all gone.

    Is that the future you want? Thats the future YOU are helping.

  • Facebook User: Facebook User I disagree. If one child has a chance to get a better education, then I will support vouchers. We certainly don’t have to agree. Public schools are overcrowded, have a bloated administration, pass kids to the next grade when they’re not ready, flip flop on curricula, and test, test test – not teach. My granddaughters were in K and First grade during Covid. They missed two months of school. Public schools in my area missed 18 months. That time can never be made up. Please don’t tell me what to believe when I know the good that can happen .
  • Facebook User: Facebook User we have different opinions which is all right. You are preventing many children from having the opportunity to get a good education. I find that sad.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User i want every child to have the best education possible. I know that vouchers is not the right or correct way to do so. It’s okay that we disagree though.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User it’s so nice to disagree in a civil manner. Thank you.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User I understand your personal experience makes you passionate about independent schools, but policy has to be based on systemic reality, not anecdotes. Universal vouchers don’t target the families who need help. Instead, they give a tax discount to the wealthy while leaving underfunded public schools with even fewer resources to help the middle and lower class. Arizona, Ohio and Florida that opened universal vouchers, the vast majority of applicants were families whose kids were already in private schools. Also, vouchers do NOT guarantee admission.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User but the rich people ARE eligible for vouchers. And I noticed you used “independent school” — to me signals expensive, secular private school. (I worked at one, too, in development. I know the lingo) MOST of these voucher dollars are going to religious schools. And in some red states, there’s really no regulations for these schools.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User the parochial schools in my area are very good, and they accept students regardless of religion. They are usually cheaper than the independent schools. I would definitely consider them a possibility over public schools.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User I don’t fault anyone who chooses a religious school; I just don’t think tax dollars should pay for that.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User I was speaking about vouchers .
  • Facebook User: Secular Education Association Who cares? If it’s a better education than the one they’re getting in the public school system it’s a win-win.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User Fact is that the low income and poor preforming school vouchers are not on the chopping block. Neither are the special needs vouchers. None of the above are named in the voucher lawsuit. Get educated…

    This fact has been published over and over again in the news. Can people please read the news to comprehend?

• Facebook User: AMEN 100% this!!!!
• Facebook User: “Everything I don’t like is Christian Nationalism” 😂
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User “I comment on things I don’t understand and drive algorithms I don’t agree with!” 🤣🤣🤣
  • Facebook User: Secular Education Association I need to steal this saying from you!
  • Facebook User: Facebook User SEA never mentioned Christian National anything in this post or in their comments that I saw. But if you shoe fits…

    Only 30% of the population is Christian National. It is tied to MAGA. That boat is sailing. The wider population got Christian National number, labeled as spam and is blocking.

  • Facebook User: Facebook User they did
  • Facebook User: Facebook User Well…I guess they did. Ya. And the shoe fits. 👞
• Facebook User: Public School Strong Idaho
• Facebook User: I’m against Lifewise all day long, but this is just crazy thinking.
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User ok. Explain, in detail, how this is crazy thinking. We’re waiting.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User These vouchers are promoting segregation in the school system and it is some parents who do not understand that if they took their energy and put it into effort at home on school, they would have great education outcomes.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User have you seen some of our schools? I’m all for segregation at this point. White kids at Senior High have the had a lot to say and report over the years and now open enrollment has been reduced, everyone is bitching. It’s unsafe.
    Yeah, parents need to put time in, but certain demographics don’t.
• Facebook User: Our taxes should be funding public schools if parents want to send their kids to private or Christian schools they should pay for it
  • Facebook User: Facebook User shouldn’t the money follow the student ? If that’s the case I’d you choose not to put your child in public education you should not be paying a tax for those public schools
• Facebook User: Bingo!!
• Facebook User: 100% – while screaming about indoctrination
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User yep, all the while. But if it’s their brand… well then everyone should be fine with it right? 👀🙄😡
  • Facebook User: Secular Education Association Yup…like the Charlie Kirk bill, the Baby Olivia Act, the bill that put Lifewise in schools, etc…
• Facebook User: Exactly. In NC the top 10 schools receiving no strings attached piles of cash are ALL nat-c schools.
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User name them!
  • Facebook User: Secular Education Association

    Here’s top ~20 or so direct from the program website (https://k12.ncseaa.edu/opportunity-scholarship/). It’s just ridiculous they’re almost ALL religious.

  • Facebook User: Meanwhile tax dollars are paying for Muslim worship IN school but please do go on about the scary Christians invading public school’s money pool.
• Facebook User: This benefits the parents who could already afford private schools, check the prices of private schools it’s not affordable for most parents.
• Facebook User: That’s right and you are one of the few people who will say it for some reason. That’s mostly what it’s all about. Not wanting to be with those “others”. And take money and power from public schools. It’s all part of the “collapse democracy”agenda.
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User BINGO
• Facebook User: Absolutely!
• Facebook User: 🤯😵‍💫😱
• Facebook User: Correct
• Facebook User: If you want to send your children to a religious school, fine, but you should be the one to pay for it. That is a choice that you make and doesn’t make your commitment to the education of the other children in your district null and void. We are taxed as a community to support is in the best interest of the community, not just the best interest of a few children. Please don’t tell me how hard that is. I already know. My parents put 15 of us through Catholic school for 12 years each. I watched others in my family including my daughter do the same for their children. If you truly believe that is in the best interest of your children you will sacrifice to make it happen. Otherwise you are just stealing the education of the children your child will be rubbing elbows with as an adult. It5much better for all if every child has the opportunity for a good education. The answer is to fully fund the public schools, not steal their resources.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User ….Lisa knows!!!
  • Facebook User: Facebook User NYC spends over 44k per student, the most in the nation. Yet what do we get for this largess. Over 40 percent of students fail basic state Math snd Reading levels tests. To put this in perspective over 353000 students are failing. https://nypost.com/2026/05/12/us-news/nyc-dumping-record-43b-into-public-schools-at-whopping-44k-per-pupil-despite-plummeting-enrollment-poor-test-results/ I educated 5 children and sent all of them to catholic schools. I never spent more than 15k for a child in catholic school. Most of the time I spent under 10k for multiple children in primary school. If a voucher is given then the city would have 29k more to waste in the public school system. Where is the accountability for public schools for the money spent?
  • Facebook User: Facebook User we are not taxed as a community. Individual income tax, personal property tax. You seem to fall in line with the collective, communist camp.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User most parents do pay a large portion of the cost. Big cost being transportation. One needs to realize that it is not just wealthy parents who send their children to private schools
• Facebook User:
  • Facebook User: Facebook User its a nice graphic but the wording looks familiar.
  • Secular Education Association: Owen Fam agree- but that’s actually our words and a generated image… If you want to share that meme you should share our original!
• Facebook User: I usually call them “stealing from the public schools to give to the rich”, but that’s probably even more accurate.
• Facebook User: The money should follow the student.
• Facebook User: *Nationalist Christians (aka Nat C’s)
• Facebook User: Same should go for public. It’s socialist construct
  • Facebook User: Facebook User I’m curious. What is your definition of socialism?
  • Facebook User: Facebook User government control of all citizens
  • Facebook User: Facebook User got it. So I guess Trump is a socialist?
• Facebook User: I don’t qualify it by adding the word, “nationalist.” The problem is religion. All of it. Every single religious person everywhere falls into that category, whether they like it or not. That’s just bare bones logic.
• Facebook User: Private schools that accept vouchers are one example of school choice. There are many other choice options that don’t involve taxpayer money funneled to private schools.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User how is it “choice”? The school decides whether to accept your child or not. They decide on the curriculum. Parents have no say. There is no school board. There is no PTA. They are in total control. That does not sound like any form of choice to me. I went to a great public school. I feel like I got a great education. I ended up with a full scholarship to a university.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User “Choice” describes the fact that the parents choose the setting. I taught one year in a Catholic school and then the next 36 I either taught or was an administrator in public school. I wrote my doctoral dissertation on the connection between virtual charter schools and homeschooling, after developing a virtual charter program in my public school district that gave homeschoolers an opportunity to enroll and enjoy the benefits of public school (such as participation in athletics, musical offerings, art and tech ed) while doing their schoolwork virtually at home. My philosophy is to open all doors, but I draw the line at spending public money on private schools for the same reasons that you have outlined, including accountability.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User so are you saying that voucher private schools are required to accept a child? Thanks for your input.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User What are the, “Many other choices,” that don’t funnel money away from the public education system? 🤔
  • Facebook User: Facebook UserSchools that are instrumentalities of public schools such as charter schools, magnet schools, virtual charter schools, and Montessori schools. Also open enrollment and homeschooling don’t take money out of the public school sphere.
• Facebook User: IDK. My local public school really sucked. Im in a very red state. I homeschool. Id love to have a voucher to pay for educational resources instead of forking it all out of pocket.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User doesn’t always work that way. In Texas, it pays for kids already enrolled in private school.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User who pays? If you are saying the state pays, then it’s your taxes. You pay
  • Facebook User: Facebook User In Ohio, there is not a supplement for homeschooling. You are on your own for the cost.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User I know. Thats why I said Id love to have one
  • Facebook User: Facebook User I replied what I replied to educate people on the fact homeschool receives no voucher. Many do not realize this. Also, homeschooling has no proficiency tests to ensure learning is happening?
• Facebook User: It’s not school choice, if private schools are allowed to refuse admission.
  • Facebook User: Jamie Jennings Minniear speak English, please.
  • Facebook User: Jamie Jennings Minniear ”against children.” I spent 17 years teaching disabled children at low income schools. What have you done, oh great benefactor of children?
• Facebook User: Oh stop! 🛑 Seriously with the housing affordability crisis, parents are unable to just move to a zip code with a quality CSD. Parents and children need options right now. Housing is not getting corrected, why do the children have to suffer in a failing CSD based on their zip code. Having options and competition is good for both public and private schools students.
  • Facebook User: STFU MAGAT😂😂😂want YOUR kid to be indoctrinated to YOUR god use YOUR money not mine. Pretty easy maggots👍🏽
  • Facebook User: Facebook User when there are no more public schools and your child will only be able to get into lower rated private schools- what then?
    Private schools can discriminate. Remember that.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User then you are obviously against EdChoice where your tax dollars subsidize private and religious education for wealthy people who were already sending their children to private and religious schools.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User How is this fair competition? Private schools can do whatever they want with almost no oversight or accountability. They can pick and choose their students. Public schools have to provide education and support services to every child, abide by dozens of unfunded mandates, provide transportation, etc. They even have to provide some services to the private school students in my state.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User but they can afford to take time from work and drive their kids out of district every day?
  • Facebook User: Facebook User I have to disagree. If public schools are not good whose fault is that? Your state government. And who makes the decisions on how much to fund public schools? Elected officials. And who elects the officials. You/I do. Demand better public schools!