Tuesday, April 6, 2021

West Virginia Passes Sweeping Voucher Bill | Diane Ravitch's blog

West Virginia Passes Sweeping Voucher Bill | Diane Ravitch's blog
West Virginia Passes Sweeping Voucher Bill



Republicans in West Virginia passed a dramatic voucher bill that allows people to spend public education funds on almost anything. Governor Jim Justice, a billionaire, signed the bill into law.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice on Saturday signed into law the bill that school-choice advocates say will implement the nation’s broadest nonpublic school vouchers program.

Programs in other states are limited to low-income, special-needs or other subsets of students, or have caps on the number of recipients in general. But West Virginia’s program will be open to all K-12 students, including by offering public money to families who already don’t use the public school system.

Effective beginning in the 2022-23 school year, families who withdraw their children from public schools can receive a currently estimated $4,600 per-student, per-year for private- and home-schooling expenses. Families also may receive the money for newly school-aged CONTINUE READING: West Virginia Passes Sweeping Voucher Bill | Diane Ravitch's blog