To a state legislator: oppose voucher / ESA expansion

Personalize. If you’re a parent of a public-school student, a teacher, or a former public-school student, name that. If your state has had state-level adequacy litigation under your state constitution’s education clauses, referencing it is useful. Specific local examples — a public school facing pressure, a per-pupil funding shortfall — make this letter substantially more effective.

Dear [Senator/Representative] [Last Name],

I’m writing as a resident of [city/town] to ask you to oppose [specific voucher or ESA bill, if known; otherwise: “voucher / ESA expansion legislation”] in [state name].

Voucher and ESA programs have expanded in roughly 15 states since 2020. The political framing is “school choice.” The fiscal pattern is something different. Universal voucher programs — those without income or prior-private-school requirements — overwhelmingly serve families that were already enrolled in private schools. The state-budget effect is to divert hundreds of millions to over a billion dollars annually from public school systems to private (often religious) schools, with most enrollment growth coming from families that did not need public help to access private schooling.

The empirical record on student outcomes is poor. Meta-analyses of the most rigorous studies (random-assignment lottery designs) consistently find neutral or modestly negative academic outcomes for participating students compared to public-school peers. The promised competitive pressure on public schools has not materialized in any consistent way.

The public school cost is real. Universal voucher programs in mid-sized states have produced state spending in the hundreds of millions to over a billion dollars annually — substantial relative to state K-12 budgets. The fiscal pressure has, in several cases, prompted subsequent K-12 funding cuts or freezes that fall heaviest on the public schools serving the families that don’t have the resources to make voucher payments stretch.

[Personalize: name a specific local public school facing pressure, a per-pupil funding pattern in your district, a community that depends on public education. Examples: “My children attend [specific school] which has [funding/staffing issue]”; “Our [district/county] has [enrollment/funding pattern]”; “I’m a teacher in [school/district] and have seen [specific effect]”.]

When voucher expansions have been put to voters directly, they have lost — Kentucky 2024, Nebraska 2024 (twice), Colorado 2024. The pattern is consistent: voters, when given a clear choice, reject voucher expansions even in states where the legislature has supported them. Where they advance through legislatures, the political pressure has been donor-driven and well-funded.

I’m asking you to oppose voucher / ESA expansion in our state and to support adequate funding for the public school system that serves the majority of [state]‘s students.

I’d appreciate knowing your position.

Thank you for your service.

Sincerely,

[Your name] [Your address]