Yes, thank you, Patty Logan of Stand Up Blue Valley. We also really wish the Kansas City Star had higher standards for printing commentary like this. It wasn’t even just a letter to the editor, but guest commentary (which isn’t subject to the word count limit of letters to the editor like Dr. Logan’s submission). Another example of deception in the letter is comparing general fund allocations without acknowledging that Kansas funds its schools with less local property tax funding than other states. Also, the “guest commentary” cites a US News and World Report piece from 2017 as evidence supporting tax credit scholarship programs. However, the article goes on to say,

“However, the results weren’t all good news for the Sunshine State initiative.

“The program’s positive impact in terms of enrollment in community colleges, the researchers underscored, was mitigated by a more modest impact on the share of students earning associate degrees.

“‘This study finds that the nation’s largest private school choice program helps get students into college, but too many still fail to earn degrees,’ the researchers wrote….

“A recent slate of research on private school choice programs in Indiana, Louisiana and the District of Columbia has been bad news for proponents, showing such programs have had negative educational impacts on students. Some research has shown negative results diminishing after successive years of operation, but none of the findings have proven to be a boon for private school choice supporters.”

Originally posted to Facebook on 01/06/2019.