The funding plan currently before the Los Angeles School Board goes by two names. Supporters call it “Student Centered Funding,” while union educators and parent advocates know it as “the Betsy DeVos voucher scheme.”

Not content to retire from the school privatization business, Donald Trump’s secretary of education, Betsy DeVos, has teamed up with the American Legislative Council (ALEC) to pilot a new school voucher scheme in Los Angeles. The plan would send funds directly to school sites instead of ensuring a centrally enforced foundation of programs, educators, and staff at every school. This restructuring of allocations would set a precedent that could be duplicated across the nation.

If the Los Angeles School Board passes the plan at its meeting tomorrow, funding for each school would be determined by calculating a specific dollar amount for every student in the district, with differing dollar amounts assigned based on individual student characteristics such as disability and language status. Wherever the student attends, their “backpack of cash” would go with them. Under-attended schools would thus be vulnerable to underfunding and closure.