In 2021, the West Virginia Legislature established the Hope Scholarship Program, which proponents refer to as an “education savings account” (ESA), but is more accurately described as an expanded school voucher. Recipients of the scholarship can apply the funds toward a variety of costs including but not limited to tuition, fees, tutoring services, transportation, supplies, and textbooks.
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West Virginia is one of many states offering school voucher programs, which divert public funds from public schools to private schools and other educational service providers both within and outside of the state. Unlike other states with voucher programs like Wisconsin, Ohio, Georgia, and Indiana, West Virginia’s program has no caps on overall enrollment, cost of the program, or the household income of participating families. In addition to a growing voucher program, there is also the reality of declining resources available for public schools as a result of aggressive tax cuts and the expiration of COVID-era federal relief funds. With relief funds expiring this month and additional tax cuts going into effect in January, public schools are in the precarious position of adjusting to reduced funding with even more financial uncertainty on the horizon.
Voucher programs are often presented as an avenue to expand education options for families by offsetting costs for tuition, tutoring, instructional materials, or support programs. However, extensive research supports that voucher programs have harmful impacts on funding for public education, but provides little evidence that these programs lead to actual improvements in student achievement and success.
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