The Wyoming Legislature’s school voucher program makes me think of the Titanic. Like a hastily built luxury liner that sinks to the bottom of the ocean, the program that uses public money on private education is going down, hopefully never to resurface.
Opinion
I’ve got about 3,818 other analogies — coincidentally the number of student applications the Steamboat Legacy Scholarship Act had received by last week — but I think the stark imagery above should show you that I think the state’s latest “universal school choice” gambit is destined to be a colossal failure that won’t survive. The courts will take it down.
And the legislators who gave us this mess will scream, even though it’s 100% their fault.
The Wyoming Education Association and nine parents of K-12 students recently sued the state to throw out this abomination that was created by the far right to end public education as we know it.
The $7,000 in school vouchers the program provides parents annually to send their kiddos to private or parochial schools is inherently unconstitutional, and lawmakers knew that but proceeded anyway, wasting time and public resources.
I can’t imagine any court in the state, including the Wyoming Supreme Court, where this will eventually land, could look at the Wyoming Constitution and do anything but reject the voucher program.
“Nor shall any portion of any public school fund ever be used to support or assist any private school, or any school, academy, seminary, college or other institution of learning controlled by any church or sectarian organization or religious denomination whatsoever,” Article 7, Section 8 reads.
It doesn’t take a legal scholar like Madeline Matlock, Perry Mason or even Judge Judy to understand this constitutional prohibition on public funding of private schools. What Wyoming’s founders wanted is written in plain English; the issue is black and white.
But like a classic disaster movie with a tragic ending, the main characters knew school vouchers were unconstitutional and plowed ahead anyway.
To play devil’s advocate, let’s say the state has an “out” in other constitutional language that allows the spending of public funds only for the necessary support of the poor. That’s how the Legislature in 2024 tried to justify passage of its first school voucher program, “Educational Savings Accounts.”
Lawmakers set income guidelines for families to qualify for up to $6,000 per child per year to pay for private tuition or other expenses. It was a weak argument because the constitution doesn’t say there could be an educational exception to help the poor. The WEA’s lawsuit calls it an example of “gratuitously funneling public funds to private individuals and entities, regardless of whether they are poor and regardless of whether that support is necessary.”
The 2025 bill to expand the ESA program passed despite objections from moderate Republicans who said the state would spend time and tons of money in court to defend it.
The Freedom Caucus stomped its feet to protest any income limits, damn the costs, because other red states demanded “universal” school choice and got it. The caucus claimed those successes proved Wyoming’s version would stand up in court, neglecting the real-life repercussions of such programs. Arizona, for example, spent $332 million on its expanded universal voucher system last year, while facing a $1.3 billion state budget deficit.
What I find really rich about Wyoming’s far-right reaction to the WEA and parents’ lawsuit is summed up by Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder’s complaints.
In a statement to WyoFile, Degenfelder decried the education association’s “left-wing lawfare” and called the timing of the lawsuit “deeply” troubling.
“To wait until two weeks before the [ESA] funds are to begin distribution to ask for an injunction is devastating to the nearly 4,000 Wyoming families that have signed up for the program and the many service providers that are counting on those families,” Degenfelder said. “This is reckless and our Wyoming children are the collateral damage.”
No, what’s reckless and troubling — and should be clear to voters — is that despite the WEA and other opponents repeatedly pointing out the unconstitutionality of such bills for several years, the Freedom Caucus and state officials like Degenfelder paid absolutely no attention. They stumbled toward their goal of universal school choice, spiking the ball in victory before reaching the end zone (i.e., not developing a clear legal strategy to defend an unconstitutional law in court).
The Legislature should look at the outcome of all the lawsuits filed over its long history of education funding and realize what we all know: It sucks at this.
In a series of landmark rulings dating back to the 1980s, the Wyoming Supreme Court has always found the state hasn’t followed the constitutional mandate to fund a public K-12 system that provides a high-quality and equitable education for all students. The constitution’s education clause states, “The Legislature shall provide for the establishment and maintenance of a complete and uniform system of public instruction.”
The most recent lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state’s school funding formula was filed three years ago by the WEA and eight school districts, who maintained the state has withheld appropriate funding at the expense of educational excellence, safety and security.
On Feb. 26, Laramie County District Court Judge Peter Froelicher ordered the Legislature to fix a funding formula that he wrote negatively impacted children’s right to a proper education. The next day, the House and Senate reached a compromise despite some major disagreements and passed the school voucher bill.
The Legislature, in my view, effectively told the courts, “You think how we fund public schools is so bad? Wait until you see the damage we can do with our new school voucher program.”
While simultaneously defending this unconstitutional program in court, the state will be following the rigorous “recalibration” process the courts have ordered it to use every five years to reset its school funding formula. If you’ve never had the soul-crushing experience of spending countless hours at these public hearings, let me explain what “recalibration” does.
The state hires independent consultants for a considerable amount of money to detail what should be in the “basket of goods” — what public schools offer students — and how much to spend. The consultants develop a well-reasoned and legally defensible model that is higher than the state currently spends.
The Legislature’s Select Committee on School Finance Recalibration hears the consultants’ recommendations, thanks them for their service, and chucks the whole report. Then, lawmakers draft a bill that cuts education funding while passing measures like the Steamboat Legacy Scholarship Act that leave even less funds on the table for public schools.
Like the incompetent builders of leaky boats, the architects of the school voucher bill knew what was coming. This is on them, but we’ll all pay for it.
I know I’m not the only disappointed parent out there, and I encourage others to speak up and advocate for their children.
My family and I have lived in Paradise Valley for many years. When it came time for open enrollment for the 2025–2026 school year, I had to decide which junior high my son would attend. For us, the obvious and only real choice was CY—it’s our neighborhood school, just 3 miles from our home.
However, the system requires you to select second, third, and fourth choices. I was reassured by multiple people that I had nothing to worry about—because CY is our neighborhood school, my son would definitely get in.
Then the email from the district arrived: he was placed at CCA. Yes, I listed CCA as one of the options, but if I had known what I know now, it would never have made the list. Every single parent I know who listed CCA—regardless of how low it was on their list—had their child placed there. It seems no one is actively choosing CCA, yet that’s where students are being assigned.
One teacher, who I’ll keep anonymous, even told me, “Great, the district is doing it to us again—placing kids here who don’t want to be here.” And that’s exactly how my child feels. He doesn’t want to be there either.
Thankfully, because of the Steamboat Legacy Scholarship, we were able to enroll our son in a private school on our side of town. While he won’t attend CY this year, the scholarship allows him to still participate in sports at CY with his friends. It’s not a complete win, but it’s something. And I’m not the only parent who made this choice—many others were just as frustrated about not getting into their neighborhood school and gladly accepted the scholarship as a workaround.
Do I agree with the scholarship? Honestly, no. Our district constantly promises raises to staff, and as someone whose husband works in the district, I know firsthand those promises often go unfulfilled. How can we justify funding private schools when we can’t even properly fund our public schools or retain staff?
But if using this scholarship means my child gets access to a better situation, I will absolutely take advantage of it.
Let’s stop pretending this is a true “school of choice” system when the choice clearly isn’t ours. Maybe it’s time to go back to the basics: your child attends the school in their neighborhood. That alone could help solve some of the funding and enrollment issues we’re facing. I urge legislators to take a closer look at how the school of choice system is impacting students and families across the state.
Our “School of Choice” system isn’t working. Maybe if we abandoned “school of choice” and went back to attending neighborhood schools, parents wouldn’t use this voucher to have their child attend private schools. My Grandson cannot attend his neighborhood school due to it being full. It is full because there is a Chinese Immersion program that the students get first choice to go to CYMS. All of his friends got into CYMS and he is being sent to CCA. It appears to me that they break their own rules that they had set for attending your neighborhood school. He didn’t have enough “points” even though two siblings also attended CYMS and his father is a school district employee. He still doesn’t have enough “points”. They are sending him to a school with a curriculum that he has never encountered. I believe the CCA staff will spend more time trying to “catch up” the kids that are forced to attend their school. The ones that attend from Fort Casper Academy, already know the curriculum. How is this good education? Letters were written to school board members that were never received. Why are there better middle schools than others? That is what the school district needs to ask itself. They should be equal in education and a parent shouldn’t feel that their kid is just a number who doesn’t have enough “points” to attend the school 5 minutes from his home. Students from other areas of town are pushing the students in the neighborhood out. Our family chose to live in the Paradise Valley area and attended the neighborhood school. Now my grandson is forced to go to a school where he has no friends, and has no clue what the curriculum is.
Right On, Kerry Drake! What made Wyoming such a great place to grow up is/was it’s small towns, especially the towns with a single public grade school, a single jr. high or middle school, and a single high school, this was the base for so many across the state and the coherence, the fundamental value of community was so solid. Towns knew they wanted the best, brightest, young and experienced teachers to open kids minds, we knew we had the most “Equality State” progressive reputation that would attract those teachers. People made jokes about small town life. My mother, a staunch GOP supporter, used to sing along when Harper Valley PTA came on the radio. Nobody felt threatened, it was against Wyoming values to be defensive about anything, people used to say whatever they wanted and valued the openness of conversation. This voucher-National GOP platform lockstep stupidity is new, Wyoming wasn’t like this before. We used to be Wyoming. We need to turn this thing around as soon as possible. Wrong (out of state conformity brained) people are getting elected. Excellent op-ed piece, Kerry!
I’m all for school choice, but I’m totally against using public funds to support private choices. Having said that, I also think that there is a problem with today’s society and the education of our young adults. We are turning out individuals that do not have the intellectual capabilities to be productive members of society. Why? I don’t know. But I do know this, when I see the Principal’s Honor Roll printed in the local paper and an entire class is listed except maybe one or two kids, there is something wrong. We can’t have so many “above average” students and still perform so dismally on competency tests.
And a comment on teacher pay, for the teacher that retired and at the end of her career and was only making $60K, let’s talk about the health care, and retirement plan that she earned during her years of tenure. Those benefits aren’t cheap. And in reality, $60K for 9 months work is the equivalent of $80K annually. Add in another 33% for benefits it now becomes over $100K…..that’s not chump change.
And as for Degenfelder , yes she was the lessor of the two republican evils, but seriously folks when the only qualifications that are necessary to hold the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction are: 1) at least twenty-five (25) years of age
2) a citizen of the United States and 3) qualified as an elector in the state of Wyoming; what do you expect?
So I needed to research the subject before I made a comment. Good thing I had a good public education in my younger years, and was able to attend the University of Wyoming, where I learned to dig into things. Kids now days don’t do that
I also read the bill and it appears to me unconstitutional but we’ll wait and see what the court says. Hopefully it just bypasses all the courts and goes to the Wyoming Supreme Court so we can get a decision quickly
I’m not gonna argue whether it’s constitutional or not but, I’ve seen homeschooling in action, and I’ve seen private self funded schools in action
The kids that were homeschooled did not have social skills to help them further their lives. They don’t get a good perspective on what real life is because they’re protected by the homeschool environment. Then when they hit the real world, they have a lot of problems. Socialization good or bad is important to learn how to survive in the world.
I’ve also seen situations where private schooling did not concentrate on the education that would allow easy transition into college. Part of it again social skills and part of it the ability to study.
I have seen many successes in the public sector.
My opinion, however, at this point in time is the problem with private or public schools is the parents. They don’t want the kids to have homework, they don’t want to help with homework, they’re too busy watching TV or being on their phone.
I realize being a young person today is tough, but the parents need to be more involved.
Both my parents worked however they made sure our homework was done and if we didn’t understand our homework, they helped us do the homework. They made the parent teacher conferences. They were involved with the school even though they worked 8 to 10 hours a day.
I do not believe this is a good law and I do believe it’s unconstitutional. The Wyoming Supreme Court has already said that Wyoming is under funding at schools. I agree.
Teachers are leaving the state because they don’t get paid enough here. I don’t think anybody gets into teaching for the money, but you need money to survive.
I know two school teachers that recently retired. One worked in the school system for 30 years and in her last year, she was only making $60,000 a year. I realize they get the summer off but that’s part of the deal.
Also, I’m not sure, but if this bill does go into effect, I sure hope there’s accountability. If not, I could homeschool my kids and get say 21,000 a year for three of them and do they really have an education
Yep agree. No accountability. Plenty of loopholes for fraud. Wyoming schools are already scrambling to cut their losses.
Wyoming does not want to go down the same road as Arizona, where public education is grossly underfunded and many who benefit from the school voucher system are wealthy. Wyoming has great public schools, and they need to stay that way.
Public schools are failing our children. Too much emphasis on teachers too little on students. Why not think outside the envelope and try vouchers? If it proves the public system is better than we can go all in there,. If not, give parents the opportunity to choose and fund it.
Thank you for your article. As an educator of 37 years most if it has been a constant fight for funding. Now this taking of public funds for private schooling with little oversite feels like a slap in the face. Educators try to inform our legislators as you stated, and are ignored or accused of being salary greedy. Wyoming districts are having a harder time finding teachers and thus does not help. Thank you again for voicing educators frustrations.
I know that I for one am eagerly anticipating a forthcoming “Hindenburg” amendment to the Wyoming Constitution to counter the inevitable Supreme Court check. Or in FC speak: We believe that by hitching a floundering steamboat onto a dirigible filled with a highly explosive gas we will be able to provide the trajectory necessary to bring conservative value our educational system while also supporting and further developing Wyoming’s cherished “legacy” energy and transportation sectors. What could possibly go wrong?
Kerry, POINT 1 – you cite the WY constitution: “Nor shall any portion of any public school fund ever be used to support or assist any private school, or any school, academy, seminary, college or other institution of learning controlled by any church or sectarian organization or religious denomination whatsoever,…” Depending on how one parses the sentence, while public support of religious institutions of learning is clearly banned, it is unclear to me that this clause bans (or ever meant to ban) support of secular institutions of learning. So, your absolute conviction that any voucher program must be unconstitutional seems on shaky ground. POINT 2 – you must be aware that Wyoming spends very dramatically more per student than neighboring states yet with educational outcomes that are about average nationwide and about equal to neighboring states. Given its cost, Wyoming public eduction is in a sad state of affairs, and that is not because of a lack of funding.
Point 1: The WY Constitution on the issue of barring funding of other than public schools has historically succeeded; and, now, it seems that legislators didn’t bother to “parse” (leaving naked supposition to drive a monumental different reading).
Point 2: Constitutions aren’t written to self-destruct upon opinions of “sad state of affairs”, national ranking, nor any other offering of red line crossed. Constitutions have procedures and requirements for amending.
Point 1 – Private schools are private organizations. Prohibited. Point 2 – Because of Wyoming’s large land mass, smaller districts, and many districts, the cost per student will always be higher. Now if you wish to help out the home schoolers that is another matter all together. The objective of the Freedom Caucus et al is to provide for funding of private schools or expansion of “Charter Schools” at the expense of the general population. In reading the constitution and looking at the reality of providing education in Wyoming, common sense applies. BTW .. the large area problem applies to many services including highways cost per mile, medical services to small communities, communications systems, utility distribution, and many others.
Thank you for your well written editorial. I whole heartedly agree with you, and spent countless hours writing our state legislators saying much the same thing.
Scary to think that Degenfelder was the lesser of two evils running in the primary! That she is always vocally supporting funding private education, but gives us only “crickets” when it comes to the mandatory full funding of the schools, is a sad comment on her priorities for K-12 education in WY.
Degenfelder is seriously way over her head
Article 7, Section 11 of the Wyoming Constitution assigns the general supervision of public schools to the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The current occupant of that office should be defending her constitutional obligation to support public education and not advocating for the funneling public funds to those who want their children educated privately.