EDUCATION REPORT - After 50 Years, Use of School Vouchers Is

EDUCATION REPORT - After 50 Years, Use of School Vouchers² Is Still Limited
By Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Thursday, August 04, 2005

I'm Shep O'Neal with the VOA Special English Education Report.

 
 

Some American children get a private education paid for with public money. School choice programs let parents move their child out of a failing public school. The parents can choose a private school and pay for it with a government payment voucher¹.

It was fifty years ago when the economist³ Milton Friedman proposed a voucher system to improve American education. His work, "The Role of Government in Education," appeared in the nineteen fifty-five book Economics and the Public Interest.

Today, about thirty-six thousand students are served by vouchers. The programs are in the city of Washington, D.C., and three of the fifty states: Florida, Ohio and Wisconsin. The number of students will grow with fourteen thousand new vouchers just approved by lawmakers in Ohio. And Utah will offer a voucher program for disabled students.

A few states offer tax credits or other forms of support to help parents pay for private schools.

One objection to vouchers has to do with the fact that most private schools are religious. The Constitution separates government and religion. Voucher critics argue that the use of public money for religious schools is unconstitutional.

The United States Supreme⁴ Court has rejected this argument. In two thousand two, it ruled that a voucher program in Cleveland, Ohio, was neutral toward religion. The court said any tax money that went to religious schools was the result of individual decisions. Also, the vouchers let parents choose other kinds of schools. The Florida Supreme Court is now considering a similar case in that state.

Opponents of vouchers say public schools should get more money so all children can attend good schools near their home.

Yet some people think all families should be offered vouchers, not just poor ones. Milton Friedman and his wife started the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation to work for school choice. It says the goal is to improve, through competition, the quality of education for all.

Milton Friedman had his ninety-third birthday on Sunday. The Nobel Prize-winning economist has been talking to reporters about the fiftieth anniversary of his proposal. Mister Friedman told Education Week that he thinks fifty years from now, all students will be served by school vouchers.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Nancy Steinbach.  I'm Shep O'Neal.

1 voucher   

n.收据；传票；凭单，凭证

参考例句：

• The government should run a voucher system.政府应该施行凭证制度。
• Whenever cash is paid out,a voucher or receipt should be obtained.无论何时只要支付现金，就必须要有一张凭据或者收据。

2 vouchers   

n.凭证( voucher的名词复数 )；证人；证件；收据

参考例句：

• These vouchers are redeemable against any future purchase. 这些优惠券将来购物均可使用。
• This time we were given free vouchers to spend the night in a nearby hotel. 这一次我们得到了在附近一家旅馆入住的免费券。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）

3 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

4 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。