Follow the Money: A Comprehensive Review of the Funding Mechanisms of Voucher Programs in Six Cases

Abstract

A new CEEP publication compares the funding mechanisms of voucher programs in Arizona, Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia and the interaction of these mechanisms with overarching school funding formulas. This cross-case review is part of a larger report, including detailed profiles of each individual case and data visualizations. The publication, “Follow the Money: A Comprehensive Review of the Funding Mechanisms of Voucher Programs in Six Cases,” examines the impact of policies on voucher funding, contrasts eligibility criteria, and considers the impact of these criteria on state spending and district revenues. The review is co-authored by CEEP Research Associate Molly S. Stewart and Graduate Research Assistant Jodi S. Moon.

Key findings regarding the impact of voucher programs on public education finance fall into three primary categories:

Savings and/or losses at the state and local levels; The impact of enrollment and student count, including categorical funding and weights based on student characteristics; and Fiscal accountability policies. These three categories in the data demonstrate how finance policies interact with each other to create fiscal impacts that are significantly more complex than the savings calculations employed by most other research on voucher finance.