FREE ESSAY ON PROP. 38

PROP. 38

"School Vouchers"
School vouchers are the educational topic of the millennium. In California, if Prop. 38
were passed it would grant K-12 students a $4,000-a-year voucher to receive private
schooling. This proposition has some ups and some downs in my viewpoint and in this paper
I will tell you about school vouchers, I will also tell you about the opponents and the
supporters of the bill, the candidates for President stance on the issue and finally my
thoughts about school vouchers.
"... Proposition 38, the initiative that would grant a $4,000-a-year voucher to K-12
students to attend a private school..."(Saunders A-24). The vouchers have been tested in
a few cities including Dayton, Ohio, Washington D.C. and New York. Some bad news for
supporters of Prop. 38 were that "... students offered the vouchers - 47 percent in
Washington, 46 percent in Dayton and 24 percent in New York- did not use them"(Zernike
2).
"Its poor kids who lack options... and public schools know a captive society when they
see it. They can under educate the kids with little negative effect"(Saunders A-24). Most
Supporters of Prop. 38 want to do things for the better of Americas Children. They say
that this bill will better education for all students not just the ones who get into
private school. This they say is true because the vouchers will bring up competition
among schools and force them to better their acts. "... for most Americans public
education is the only option"(So You Wanna Know... 1). They say that this will finally
give all children a chance to go private school or at least get into the private school
atmosphere.
A fact brought up by an opponent of the proposition was "... there was no significant
test score difference between students who attended private school and the students who
attended public school"(Zernike 1). The foes also state, "School vouchers are the fools
gold of educational reform"(Wickham 29A). They are trying to get across their point that
school vouchers are not the way to go.
In the 2000 Election, there are two major candidates, Al Gore and George W. Bush. Al Gore
seems to want to get a higher level of education for America's kids and he also knows how
much a good education is worth in this country. George W. Bush also wants the betterment
of America's education. Both Candidates take education into high regard. This election
will better the education quality of America by a long shot.
I'm kind of unsure whether or not I'd vote for Prop. 38. This bill would be good if all
the kids were guaranteed a spot in a private school or to be in the private school
atmosphere, but thy are not. This is why it makes me unsure whether or not I'd vote for
the bill. If there was a guarantee in vote YES without a doubt. 
In conclusion, I have told you about school vouchers. Like I said school vouchers would
be more likely to get passed if they had a guarantee. I guess it would not hurt to try
something new because its darn sure that what were doing now is not working as well as it
is supposed to. I guess its save for me to say VOTE YES ON 38.
Bibliography
Bibliography
? Bush, George W. "The Battle Over School Choice PBS Interview", Frontline.10/02/2000
? Gore, Al. "The Battle Over School Choice PBS Interview", Frontline.10/02/2000
? Saunders, Debra J. "A Lifeline For Poor Kids In Bad Schools" San Francisco Chronicle.
20 September 2000, A-24
? "So You Wanna Know About School Vouchers", soyouwanna.com, 14 September 2000: 1-4
Http://www.soyouwanna.com/site/pros_cons/vouchersFULL.html 
? Stockton Teachers Association 30 August 2000
? Wickham, Dewayne. "Vouchers Help Too few Students" USA Today. 4 September 2000: 29-A