School vouchers are government certificates, in form of funding, that allows #students to attend their preferred choice of private school. This looks like a great idea on the surface as it seems to encourage freedom of choice, but it has some nefarious consequences, particularly on the public-school system. 

The voucher system has had a history of making it hard for racial integration in public schools. White students would prefer to take a voucher to attend a predominantly white school. This wouldn't be a problem but for the fact that the private school has the right to deny admission to whomever, it so wishes. This led to black students being denied access to private schools with predominantly white students, even after the Jim Crow laws were abolished in the 1960s.

But it's not only the social impact that makes it untenable, it is also the pragmatic aspect.

Studies have shown that there's no educational merit to the voucher system. Students do not necessarily achieve their educational goals by way of the voucher system.

Also, from an economic point of view, it is unwise. The government funding of the #voucher system takes away critical funds from public schools that need them more than their private counterparts.

What's more, these private schools have the liberty of accepting whomever they want and expelling whomever they want. This brings into focus, the discrimination that is rife and inherent in the voucher system. The 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits any form of discrimination based on race, color, and ethnic background, and while these private schools have expressed their commitment to upholding the law, their actions have had the opposite consequences.

Many of these schools have rules that prohibit cornrows, braids, and dreadlocks — stylistic choices predominantly among people of color like the African Americans and the Latinos. An example that comes readily to mind is the viral video of 2018 that showed a child trying to enter a class and the teacher refusing him entrance. Confused, the teacher explained that his dreadlocks violated the school's dress code. The video garnered widespread backlash and is merely the tip of the iceberg.

The insular and secluded nature of the private school system makes it a bad policy. Studies have shown that the majority of its attendees are Christian hetero-white males. This creates a lack of cultural interplay and alienates a certain class of people.

This was not what the founding fathers had in mind. The founding fathers championed public schooling as the best way for everyone because they felt an over-reliance on the private schools would segregate the people into different socioeconomic strata and classes. John Adams, for instance, called for publicly funded public schools that would educate “every rank and class of people, down to the lowest and the poorest.”

As we have seen, the voucher system is one that favors the rich and the privileged and alienates the less fortunate students.