Voucher proposals died in the last two sessions of the Texas legislature, but observers believe the idea will have a better chance of passing next year. If any of these cases is submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court and the court rules, the decision would apply nationwide. The U.S. Supreme Court's blessing of private-school vouchers could accelerate a system with a wide range of education providers competing for publicly funded students. School choice advocates argue vouchers free disadvantaged students from failing public schools and that the competition for students they create spurs public schools to improve. For example, the Wisconsin law limits vouchers to students at or below 175 percent of the poverty line.
Opponents counter that vouchers siphon resources from the public school system.
Also, vouchers may not be sufficient to cover all tuition costs, and vouchers may be used to provide a partial subsidy to those who can already afford to pay extra tuition on their own.