Louisiana’s public schools have shown incredible improvement over the last six years. There was a joke going around that Louisiana was one of the least educated states in the country in 2019, but at least it was better than Mississippi. Nowadays, that old punchline no longer applies.
Louisiana had become No. 37 in the nation in K-12 education by 2024 and in February, Harvard University’s Education Scorecard Program ranked Louisiana the nation’s leader in reading recovery and second in math recovery.
This is significant progress. And just when Louisiana’s public schools are standing up, policymakers are pushing private school voucher programs that risk undermining all of these advances.
The charm of vouchers is simple: Parents can divert state education dollars and apply them to private tuition, unlocking more “choice.” It is easy to see why some families welcome vouchers. They offer the chance to find smaller class sizes, specialized programs or safer environments. But the reality is that this approach often benefits families who already have access to private schooling and leaves public schools with fewer resources.
There is an argument to be made for private schools of public schools. They have more specialized programs and smaller class sizes. A child who needs special attention may receive better attention at a private school than a public school because of lower student-to-teacher ratios.
A new study conducted by Tulane University found expanding voucher programs nationwide has already changed private school enrollments and tuition. The study revealed that, as public funds become available to private institutions, average tuition tends to increase.
As public schools, which still serve the majority of students, have their resources diluted, vouchers do not add new quality seats; they simply redistribute students and dollars, frequently reducing overall educational equity.
Louisiana cannot afford this disruption. Though our test scores are improving, our public school system is still in a precarious position. The state has an ongoing truancy crisis. A Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana report recently quantified school absenteeism rates continuously over 40% since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Truancy, under the U.S. Department of Education’s definition as five or more unexcused absences per semester, has gone up sharply over the past decade, from a mean rate of 36% to more than 40%.
Students currently are losing more days of school per semester than they were during pre-pandemic times. Public schools ought to be focusing on re-engagement, support and recovery of attendance — not trying to keep up with a growing voucher system sucking resources away.
The bottom line is this: Louisiana’s story is one of momentum in public schools. Our children and teachers have clawed their way up in national rankings, showing that investment and determination pay dividends. Redirecting public dollars toward private vouchers risks reversing this progress, further digging in attendance troubles and widening educational disparities.
Choice is often framed as freedom, but if vouchers dismantle the very system that functions for most families, it isn’t choice — it’s abandonment. Louisiana can keep climbing, but only if we continue building, not dismantling, the public schools that are now demonstrating what our students are capable of.