The idea of using school vouchers has been around since the 1800s, but the U.S. has not nationally adopted a school vouchers system. However, president-elect Donald Trump has now announced his plans to use $20 billion in federal grants to support the school voucher system in early September. The school voucher system is supposed to allow low-income children (grades K-12) throughout America a voucher, so they can be funded to go to any private school they choose. The purpose of vouchers is to essentially pay for private school education for a student. He is also going to appoint Betsy DeVos,  who is a long-time supporter of school vouchers, as Secretary of Education. Since the Republican party will have control of the Congress, it is a definite possibility that school vouchers could become a reality.

However, Trump’s promise to direct $20 billion in federal grants to the school choice system may just be an act of trying to gain support from minority voters, according to the New York Times. He fails to mention where the funds will be coming from. During his campaign, he talked about cutting down the education department rather than adding portability, which the system of funding schools by giving block grants to states so students can attend any school, public or private, through vouchers.

Betsy Devos, who will become the next Secretary of Education, is a Republican known to be heavily involved with the school voucher system. She is seen as a national leader for the school choice movement, and her future position will surely increase the likelihood of school vouchers becoming possible. She has donated money to the cause, and has promoted pro-voucher legislatures to help the school choice system be successful. She has been active in education policy for almost 30 years, and has advocated in the past for privately run charter schools.

The school voucher will have a larger effect on low-income areas, because students will have a wider array of schools to attend than before. CHS counselor Jeremy Troesh says that the school voucher system may not affect all schools and believes it is highly unlikely that CHS will be affected by it.

Conservatives believe that school choice will raise student learning and give more opportunities to kids, while critics say that this may take money away from public schools. Since so many kids will be moving from the public school system to private schools, they public schools may not be as well-funded since less students will be attending. This is especially a concern in low-income areas, where students who were never able to go to private schools will now be able to move to more expensive private schools as a result of the vouchers. Critics also think it could seriously benefit religious schools and charter schools being run for profit.

“I support it [the school voucher system] because it can help lower-income students go to the schools they want… I don’t like it because it can hurt some schools financially,” Troesh said.

However, because of the recent election of Donald Trump and his decision to make Betsy DeVos the new Secretary of Education, there is a distinct possibility that the school voucher system could become a nationwide possibility in the near future. The school voucher system may not have a huge effect on CHS, but nevertheless it will open up opportunities for low-income students around the country who will be able to attend their school of choice.