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Ronald Trowbridge, vice-president for external programs and communications at Hillsdale College in Michigan, wrote in The Wall Street Journal "If government vouchers are extended to private primary and secondary schools, truly private schools in five, 10, 15 or 20 years will become virtually extinct."

Hi, thanks for the ping.

This article is well written and accurately summarizes all the arguments I have heard AGAINST vouchers.

However, this article reminds me of Chicken Little running around saying "The ski is falling!"

I say that because FL has thre voucher programs, and we have had a chance to see what goes on in the implementation of vouchers, on a statewide basis -- and, FL is the ONLY state in the nation that has done this.

I can tell you for a fact the fearful warnings cited in this article are basically irrelevant to the voucher situation in FL. Yet, I realize, had the voucher programs in FL been implemented differently, the author may have had made some valid points.

But, here in FL, this is what has happened, and I hope these current facts may be considered:

(1) FL private schools are not required to accept vouchers, and many private schools do NOT accept vouchers. Reasons vary: the school is small and wants to remain small; the school does not want to admit any public voucher students due to potential unhappiness parents now paying tuition perceive may come from the public schools; etc.

In short, not one private school in FL is required to accept vouchers. So, in "five, 10, 15, or 20 years" these schools may continue to decide to reject vouchers, as is their right to do so under current FL law.

(2) The voucher program in FL has not resulted in a widespread abandonment of failing public schools in FL -- not by parents and not by the governor. Out of 8,500 students eligible for vouchers this year because they attend an "F" rated FL public school, only 350+ students' parents have met the deadline, already past, for obtaining a voucher. This is a very small percentage. The reasons more parents did not seek a voucher in these circumstances vary, from non-interest to public school preference, whatever.

Also, every time a public school in FL has been indentified as "failing," it has been Gov. Bush's policy to devote ADDITIONAL resources to it, demand a plan of improvement, etc. The idea that Gov. Bush has "abandoned" public schools is just plain false.

(3) No private school accepting vouchers is required to administer state assessments to students. People keep prediciting this will happened, but the bottom line in FL is this: it has not happened thus far. Maybe because so few students use vouchers, considering the number of students eligible in all three voucher programs. Also, no one ever mentions that vouchers can be, and are, used by parents to take their child out of one public schools and into a better performing public school.

In my personal opinion, one change WILL need to be made due to the SCOTUS decision -- and the desire of Muslim parents to use vouchers, and that change is this: a requirement that unregulated private schools have students recite the Pledge, teach American history and prohibit a "LET'S HATE AMERICA" curriculum. However, in most private schools founded on Judeo-Christian beliefs, this is already being done, and in some Islamic schools (but, not all), this is being done. This one change is something I would support, bvecause, frankly, it is not a change at all for most private schools in this country.

To some it up, many authors keep screaming about the terrible results of vouchers - private schools becoming like government schools, private schools becoming extinct, etc. But, I can tell you: none of this has happened in FL, where we have had vouchers for almost four years now. However, had someone in the position of governor implemented vouchers differently, perhaps then the above results would have happened. But, no such results exist so far. (BTW, one interesting result is more, new private schools -- small, religious ones -- are opening and accepting vouchers. This is a trend I expect will continue.)