D.C. School Voucher Federal Funding Approved

Congress passed the first federally funded school voucher program on January 22, 2004, allocating $14 million to establish a program for low-income students in the District of Columbia. This will likely renew the national debate over school choice issues, including controversy about public money going to religiously affiliated schools.

The funding is part of the Fiscal 2004 Omnibus Spending bill that passed the Senate by a vote of 65 to 28 and was subsequently signed by the president. In the fall, eligible students – those whose families earn up to 185 percent of the poverty level – will be offered vouchers of up to $7,500 that can be used to pay for private secular or religious schools.

In 2002 the Supreme Court ruled in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris that a Cleveland program allowing parents to use publicly funded vouchers to pay tuition at private schools – including religious schools – does not violate the U.S. Constitution's prohibition on governmental establishment of religion. Some state constitutions have amendments restricting or prohibiting the disbursement of public money to religious institutions, but since D.C. is under federal jurisdiction, the Zelman decision cleared the way for the proposed voucher program, which has been under consideration in various forms for more than nine years.

Funding for the voucher program passed easily in the House, but it was stripped from the original Senate bill because of objections from Senate Democrats who, along with teachers’ unions, oppose school voucher programs. However, the conference version of the bill reinserted the $14 million, as well as $13 million to improve D.C. public schools and an additional $13 million for D.C. charter schools, as part of a compromise to earn the endorsement of D.C. Democratic politicians.

Below are some Pew Forum resources on the constitutional issues relevant to school vouchers.

Pew Forum Issue Page: School Vouchers

Report: School Vouchers: Settled Questions, Continuing Disputes (pdf)
Joint legal statement and educational policy essays address key issues following Zelman v. Simmons-Harris decision (August 2002)

Event Transcript: Separation of Church and States: An Examination of State Constitutional Limits on Government Funding for Religious Institutions (March 28, 2003)

Event Transcript: Judgment Day for School Vouchers: A Discussion of the Supreme Court's Ruling in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (June 28, 2002)

Washington Post Article: Voucher Program Gets Final Approval