A group of parents and school choice advocates in New Orleans are holding a news conference this afternoon to urge lawmakers to expand a private school voucher program for low-income students. The expansion would recognize that some disadvantaged children at better-performing schools may also benefit from private learning options they could not otherwise afford. “You have situations where technically the school isn’t failing but the parents aren’t happy with it, and that’s been a lot of the frustration,” a spokesman from the Black Alliance for Educational Options told the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
Currently, the Students Scholarship for Educational Excellence Program provides low-income students in failing public schools a private school voucher worth $7,500. RedefinED host Doug Tuthill has commented on the shortcomings of the failing schools model of choice frequently on these pages.