SB 508 Voucher Bill - A Bad Deal

New bill is a more extreme voucher proposal that directly appropriates and quadruples funding for voucher scheme 

On Friday Governor Joe Lombardo introduced SB508, which makes a direct appropriation of $50 million dollars for private school vouchers. 

This bill fundamentally alters the current Opportunity Scholarship voucher program in significant and radical ways, managing to be even more extreme than a proposal made earlier this session. As so-called compromises go, it is instead a worst case scenario for Nevada. We urge lawmakers, who have to-date prioritized public education, to reject this bill.

SB 508 should be roundly rejected because: 

• It more than quadruples the current funding levels for private school vouchers, increasing funding from $13 million to $50 million over the biennium (The governor has made clear he intends this to be a mere stepping stone to $500 million!).

• It alters the funding mechanism for Opportunity Scholarship vouchers to more closely resemble the controversial and defunct Education Savings Account vouchers. Rather than require businesses to donate and receive a tax credit, this is a direct funding  appropriation from the state’s budget. 

• It continues the sad tradition of little to no accountability for the use of funds. Are schools using the funds to serve students? Are they achieving positive results on assessments that can be compared to public schools? The answer is no, yet the bill suggests even MORE funds be dumped into this black hole.

• Private schools can continue to reject students for almost any reason. The bill promotes the school’s choice, not “school choice.”

• Private schools will continue to receive our tax dollars while failing to teach their students with licensed educators.

Voucher scheme proponents are attempting to frame this bill as a compromise, even going so far to say this bill maintains the status quo and simply continues the existing program and funding levels. That is blatant misinformation. This bill is far from a compromise and is ultimately bad for students and our state.

There are several other areas that lawmakers could consider when seeking a compromise with the Governor. The Governor’s omnibus education bill, AB 400, proposed changes in enrollment, charter transportation, and a revitalization of Read by Grade Three. Any of these proposals should be considered before this extreme privatization effort.

The legislative majorities in both houses have made it clear that they will prioritize students and schools this session, but allowing the Governor to increase funding for unaccountable private schools puts a huge blemish on those efforts and sets a dangerous precedent for our state.We urge you to email your representatives and tell them to reject SB508 and resist any compromise that provides public funding for private schools.