Private Schools, Public Money

Did you know your taxpayer dollars could be going towards funding private school education?

Currently, 32 states provide an estimated $6.2 billion in subsidies to fund private school education through tuition vouchers, education savings accounts, and tax-credit scholarships.

Many proponents of these subsidy programs promoted them on the grounds that they would provide access to better education for low-income students in under-performing public school districts.

The early data suggest that the students of many families accessing these subsidies have never attended public school before, thus, not exactly low-income students, per FutureEd:

• 74% of students in the 10-year-old Wisconsin Parent Choice Program in 2022-23 had never attended public school before

• 73% percent of students in New Hampshire’s two-year-old Education Freedom Account had never attended public school before

• 90% (39,964 of the 44,376) of students in Indiana’s 2021-22 choice scholarship program had not spent more than two semesters in public school

The taxpayer bill is expected to increase as many private schools are taking advantage of the loose rules and regulations surrounding subsidies, per ProPublica. For example, some private schools encourage parents to apply for taxpayer-funded vouchers, regardless of need, since the more voucher money families receive, the less schools have to offer in financial aid. The surge in voucher applications is nearing the total enrollment for all private schools in some states.

Our Picks

Here are today’s recs to help you live a smarter life…

1. The grill your friends will love.

180 square inches of cooking space with the capacity to entertain — that fits up to 2 full racks of ribs, 10 burgers, 4 lbs of wings, 2 7-lbs chickens, or a 10-lb brisket.*

2. Made for thirsty pets.

Doggie water bottle as seen on Shark Tank.*

3. Your instant health assistant.

Smart ring for fitness, stress, sleep & health.*

In Case You Missed It

• The Next Generation of Cancer Drugs Might Be Made in Space — Space’s microgravity profile presents an opportunity to create perfectly crystalized injectable immunotherapy drugs that couldn’t be made on Earth.

• Chinese Organized Crime and Card Draining — Target alone has seen $300 million stolen from customers due to card draining.

• Flamin' Taste Trends: How Gen Z is Heating Up the Spice Game — A look at why America's snacks are getting more spicy.

• U.S. Oil Consolidation: What Does It Mean For My Wallet? — The impact of ExxonMobil and Chevron's potential acquisitions on oil prices.

• Are Short-Term Rentals Still a Viable Small Business? — Buy an investment property, rent it as a short-term rental, and live off the profits. Sounds great, but in today’s market, probably not.

Take me to all the daily stories I missed.

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up for free here.

* denotes a sponsorship