By Ben Velderman
EAGnews.org
    
BATON ROUGE, La. – Under Louisiana’s new voucher system, students from low-income families can receive about $5,300 in state aid to escape their mediocre or failing neighborhood public school for the private or parochial school of their choice, reports TheAdvocate.com.
 
The voucher plan is one of the boldest in the nation, and as such, it has drawn its share of criticism.
 
While most of the critics have been teacher union apologists who’ve raised ridiculous concerns – i.e. “Voucher schools will teach students the virtues of the Ku Klux Klan!” – some have legitimately questioned  how the state will ensure the private or parochial schools meet basic quality standards.
 
State Superintendent of Education John White addressed those concerns on Tuesday, when he announced the state may soon create a new review system to oversee the schools receiving state vouchers.
 
“It is important that we take a look at the quality and make sure we are achieving our mandates, which is that these schools be of an equal quality to that of the traditional public school system,” White said according to The Advocate.
 
The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will vote on the proposed review system next month. If approved, the rules would take effect later this year, according to the news site.
 
“Under the new review system, most private and parochial schools would fill out an annual, online disclosure form that is supposed to spell out the school’s purpose, leadership, teaching methods and effectiveness, accountability and improvement plans,” The Advocate reports.
 
Any warning signs will be investigated by state officials.
 
The state would also “focus more on how (private school teachers) are evaluated to the quality of their work, rather than simply on the credential they bring to the job,” White told the news site.
 
Quality concerns have already caused Louisiana officials to nix certain private schools from accepting voucher students, due to a lack of adequate building space.
 
If private schools want to accept students who receive state vouchers, it’s reasonable and appropriate for government officials to give set some standards and provide some oversight. The only potential problem would be if this review process becomes politicized and is used by anti-school choice activists to punish voucher schools and push political agendas. 
 
Outside of that concern, it seems like a fine idea for the state of Louisiana to provide taxpayers with some assurances that their money is being used to provide children with a quality education.