Giving Compass' Take:

• Stephanie Hull at The Hechinger Report says vouchers do not take into account that equity and equality are not the same thing. 

• How can donors support efforts that truly give disadvantaged children equitable opportunities?

• To learn more about the debate over educational vouchers, click here. 

Betsy DeVos, the U.S. Secretary of Education, continues to insist that private-school vouchers are the magic wand that the nation can wave to create equity for disadvantaged children — especially disadvantaged children of color.

Last year she proposed to fund vouchers by cutting $1 billion from federal spending on various elements of public K– 12 education, such as after-school programs and teacher preparation. Earlier this year, she floated the idea of a $5 billion tax credit to encourage wealthy philanthropists and corporations to fund scholarships for vouchers.

The core of the voucher idea is, of course, that if disadvantaged children are ever to have equitable opportunities for education, they need to get away from the failing public schools in their neighborhoods and attend more advantageous private schools.

Read the full article about school vouchers and equality by Stephanie Hull at The Hechinger Report.