The Challenges and Opportunities with Private School Vouchers

Full audio show here https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/conservative-review-with-daniel-horowitz/id1065050908?i=1000670982656

Today, we do something different and have a friendly debate over the prudence of the school voucher revolution in red states. Most conservatives have embraced this policy, but some have concerns about it possibly leading to government control of private schools. On net, I believe these policies are the best we can do given the strategic disadvantage we have against public education. However, my guest today, Gary Humble of Tennessee Stands, joins us to debate me over his concerns about the voucher program. He is worried about this program being structured like an open-ended entitlement, the budgetary effects, and most importantly the strings that typically come attached to such funding.

We both agree that at a minimum, school vouchers are an incomplete solution to education reform and must also be accompanied by strong protections against state mandates on private schools, an effort to reject federal education funding, and structuring the program in a way that looks more like a tax credit than an entitlement. These are the sorts of policy discussions we need if we are going to have any hope of saving red states.