Whereas the Founding Fathers envisioned public education as a compelling government interest and a public good; Whereas the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 affirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to equity and a quality education for all students; Whereas in the United States the Federal Government, State governments, and local governments fund public schools; Whereas to strengthen our public education system, the Federal Government contributes on average 10 percent of public schools’ overall revenue; Whereas most Federal funding is statutorily directed to low-income districts to provide disadvantaged students with additional resources; Whereas in many States, school districts rely heavily on local property tax as a source of revenue for public schools; Whereas in school year 2016–2017, more than 20 States provided fewer funds to public elementary and secondary schools than they had in the 2008 school year, before the Great Recession; Whereas according to data from school year 2011–2012, nearly half of States spent less per pupil in high-poverty districts than in low-poverty districts, and 20 States spent less per pupil in districts that had the highest share of minority students; Whereas since 2008, the number of public elementary school and secondary school teachers and other school workers has fallen by 135,000 while the number of students has risen by 1,419,000; Whereas 17 States with tuition tax credit programs spend approximately $1,000,000,000 of public funds each year on private schools; Whereas many studies show that vouchers have a statistically significant negative effect on student achievement; Whereas a 2017 report by the Institute of Education Sciences found that the District of Columbia’s Opportunity Scholarship Program, the Nation’s only federally funded voucher program, has a negative effect on the mathematics and reading achievement of participating students