Proponents of vouchers claim they will be a boon for New York's poor and middle-class families who have children in struggling schools. What these proponents fail to mention, however, is that these claims are not supported by the experiences of the handful of states that have enacted similar voucher proposals. 

Here are summaries of the experiences of several states based on reports by the American Federation of Teachers and People for the American Way, among others: 

Illinois: Poor, middle class benefited the least 

Illinois passed a tax-credit law in 1999. Proponents of the plan argued it would help poor students in urban districts like Chicago get a better education. In fact, Illinois' poor families benefited the least from the program. Studies conducted in 2000 and 2001, the first years of the program, found that less than 3 percent of the credits went to families earning less than $20,000 a year, while nearly half of the public tax dollars for credits went to families earning more than $80,000 a year. 

Glenn McGee, Illinois  former superintendent of education, now concedes,  "It probably has not served its intended purpose. Maybe I was naive. I said this was going to benefit poor children."

Florida: Vouchers ruled unconstitutional and money misappropriated 

In a January 2006 ruling, the state Supreme Court ruled that Florida's voucher program was unconstitutional because it funneled public tax dollars to private schools.

The history of Florida's voucher program has been clouded in controversy. Florida does not require schools that receive voucher funds to use certified teachers and there is no public oversight regarding how these private schools spend their budgets. New York Sen. Hillary Clinton noted last year that back-door voucher plans had the potential to divert taxpayer monies to extremist groups. This did happen in Florida, where $300,000 in public tax dollars were disbursed to a school run by an individual investigated for links to terrorist groups. 

Arizona and Pennsylvania: Few new kids were helped

There is no requirement in Arizona's vouchers program that any of the money go to help low-income families, and, indeed, most of it does not. A 2002 study by Arizona State University found that three-fourths of tax-credit funds went to families whose children were already enrolled in private schools. 

An analysis of Pennsylvania's voucher program by the Allentown Morning Call found that most of the vouchers given out by the state were going to students already enrolled in religious and private schools. Few new children were helped, and the plan became a windfall for families who already could afford private education for their kids.