May 5, 2011 2:04PM # Indiana Voucher Law a Defeat for Educational Freedom By [Adam B. Schaeffer](https://www.cato.org/people/adam-b-schaeffer) --- SHARE Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels signed an expansive new [voucher](http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20110505/NEWS06/110505022/Daniels-signs-Ind-school-voucher-plan-into-law-?odyssey=nav%7Chead) law today. It’s a [disaster](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-schaeffer/a-strategic-defeat-for-ed_b_857687.html) for educational freedom. Read the [full explanation](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-schaeffer/a-strategic-defeat-for-ed_b_857687.html) here. The voucher program has been widely praised as a momentous victory for school choice and Gov. Mitch Daniels on the brink of his long-awaited presidential campaign announcement. In reality, the voucher program is a *tactical* victory for highly constrained choice won at the price of a broad *strategic* defeat for educational freedom. This program will greatly expand state regulation of and authority over participating private schools. In our efforts to expand educational choice across the country, we can’t lose sight of what makes that choice valuable: educational freedom and the diversity of choices it allows to develop. School choice is meaningless if all the choices are the same. Just a teaser … ever heard of *[Chief Seattle](http://www.snopes.com/quotes/seattle.asp)*? Private schools in Indiana will know him well if they take a voucher. Read the piece for these and other [shocking details](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-schaeffer/a-strategic-defeat-for-ed_b_857687.html)! ##### Related Tags [Education](https://www.cato.org/education), [Center for Educational Freedom](https://www.cato.org/center-educational-freedom) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).