It’s questionable whether the Republican lawmakers supporting Senate Bill 1583 and Senate Bill 1647—both sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat, Oklahoma City—are trying to help students struggling in school.

SB 1647, called the Oklahoma Empowerment Act, would give money intended for public schools to individual students at private schools in the form of a voucher worth between $3,600 to $5,300. SB 1583 would allow a student in a public school with an F on its state grade card to go to any private school with taxpayer dollars.

SB 1583 passed the Senate Education Committee 9-6 and has been sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee. SB 1647 passed the Senate Appropriations Committee 12-8 and the Senate Education Committee 8-7. Both remain alive.

Supporting legislators say they want to help the students get a better education by giving them a small amount of money to attend private schools, but their solution won’t work, notwithstanding any good intentions.

Giving kids a per pupil amount of money based on (and from) the public school funding formula to attend a private school falls astoundingly short of what is needed to afford the school. Their parents would need enough wealth to afford the difference. In fact, private schools can easily raise their tuition to remain out of reach for so-called “voucher kids.”

Even for kids who are struggling in public schools, the bill would provide funding only for students whose parents have the time and energy to apply. Often, it’s precisely those parents who also struggle to find the time, ability and resources to help their children who are having the most problems.

Nor do the bills require private schools to admit anyone who wants to attend. Private schools can deny entrance to the very kids who need it most.

I would like to believe the framers of these bills seek the best interests of the students who are not benefitting from public education. The unfortunate reality, however, is that SB 1583 and SB 1647 seek to undermine public education by directing tax dollars to private schools who retain power to deny entrance.

Many public schools already lack the resources and teachers to cover classes and reach all students, resulting in kids who can’t keep up. Unlike private schools that legislators are so eager to support, public schools must serve everyone. Now they are targeted for privatization.

If parents with time and resources move their kids to private schools, fewer resources will remain for the growing percentage of struggling students attending many public schools. It’s worth noting that children coming from families with the time, resources and wealth to attend private schools are likely to be successful even in a lower-performing public school.

Kids who are not performing well at school all too often face issues at home, such as poverty or trauma. Some are learning to adapt to learning disabilities or working through mental health needs.

Oklahoma’s lawmakers—especially those supporting these bills—consistently and perversely withhold the resources to help those kids. They seek to punish those students for their lack of progress without regard to those extenuating circumstances.

If the lawmakers really cared about helping kids struggling in public school, they would go back to the drawing board and focus on providing real alternatives or the resources for public schools to succeed.

But, they won’t do that if their motivations are to eliminate public schools. I hope they prove me wrong.

Adam Kupetsky is a former member of the Tulsa World Community Advisory Board and public school advocate.