The Virginia legislation would have poor children rely upon the charitable private-school scholarships, but this bill does not guarantee these charitable contributions will be sufficient. Corporations already can make tax deductible contributions to religious schools, and such allowances have not yet produced the necessary funding for low-income families to attend private schools. Tuition tax credits will give parents and students choice. Private school administrators have the only real choice concerning which children are admitted to their schools, and the qualifications for admission are not exclusively economic. Fair competition will help the public schools.
Fair competition requires a level playing field.
Clearly, it is unfair to compare a system offering education to all and a system excluding students who are difficult and expensive to educate. Students in voucher schools perform better than public school students. Studies of the voucher plans in Cleveland and Milwaukee have concluded that vouchers do not improve overall student achievement. On most tests, voucher students scored no better or only slightly better than their public-school counterparts, and in some cases voucher students' scores were substantially lower. The founders of this country and the writers of Virginia's constitution opposed public support for private religious practice, support that would come as a result of providing tax credits to pay for religious education.