The Feminist Majority Foundation has signed on to a letter authored by the National Coalition for Public Education (NCPE), opposing continued funding for and reauthorization of the District of Columbia private school voucher program in the FY 2026 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill.
The NCPE is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening public education and opposing private school voucher programs. They argue that vouchers take away critical public resources from public schools and instead reallocates them to private institutions that are not held to the same standards of accountability, transparency, or civil rights protections.
The letter, addressed to Chair Bill Hagerty, Ranking Member Jack Reed, Chair David Joyce, and Ranking Member Steny Hoyer, highlights the fact that despite being funded by taxpayer dollars, the program has failed to improve student outcomes or ensure equal treatment for all students.
Multiple congressionally mandated studies by the U.S. Department of Education show that the D.C. voucher program has not improved academic achievement. In fact, two recent studies found students using vouchers performed worse, especially in math, than peers in D.C. public schools. Some experts have compared the learning loss experienced by voucher students to that caused by major natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina. The program also showed no improvement in parental satisfaction, school safety, or engagement.
Beyond its academic failures, the program has been plagued by poor oversight. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports and investigations by The Washington Post revealed that many of the private schools accepting voucher students lack even basic infrastructure or quality controls. Some have operated out of homes or storefronts with no restrooms or gymnasiums. Since the program’s inception in 2003, 42% of participating schools have closed due to low quality, mismanagement, or failure to meet accreditation standards.
Perhaps most concerning, however, is that voucher schools are not required to follow key federal civil rights laws that public schools must abide by, including Title VI, Title IX, Section 504, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Without these protections, students attending voucher schools can be denied due process, First Amendment rights, and equal access to services for disabilities or language needs.
Of the 34 private schools currently participating in the D.C. voucher program:
- 26 are religious institutions.
- 7 are single-sex schools.
- 19 do not mention any protections for LGBTQ+ students.
- 18 make no mention of disability accommodations.
Some schools explicitly say they cannot or will not serve students with special needs, especially if doing so would create an “undue hardship” for the school. This directly excludes some of the most vulnerable students in D.C., who should be guaranteed equal educational opportunities under the law.
The NCPE urges Congress not only to end funding for the program but, if it must be continued temporarily, to include provisions ensuring that all participating students receive the same civil rights protections as their public school peers. The coalition also criticized the Trump-Vance administration for halting a nearly completed evaluation of the program, suggesting an unwillingness to confront the program’s deep-seated flaws.
The Feminist Majority Foundation stands firmly with NCPE in opposing the continued diversion of public funds into an inequitable, ineffective, and discriminatory program. Public money should serve public schools, which are accountable to taxpayers and committed to serving all students, regardless of ability, background, or identity.
