A private school in Orlando, Fla., is threatening to expel an African-American student – over her natural hair. According to Faith Christian Academy, Vanessa VanDyke’s hair is a “distraction,” and in violation of its student dress code.The school, a self-described “ministry” of Faith Assemblies of God, made the threat after VanDyke, 12, reported being bullied for her hairstyle. It’s worth noting that the hairstyle isn’t an edgy lifestyle choice; it’s simply how her hair grows without the aid of chemical straighteners.

This would not normally be the sort of thing Americans United would pay much attention to. Private schools are free to set their own rules and standards – even if those policies sometimes don’t make sense.

But in this case there’s an important wrinkle: Faith Christian Academy is a voucher school. Prospective and current students are eligible for taxpayer-funded scholarships provided through Florida’s Step Up For Students program.Like all voucher programs, Step Up For Students is funded directly by public money. Faith Christian Academy’s decision to expel a minority student over her natural hair isn’t just a quirky news story; it also reveals the implications of allowing public funds to go to sectarian schools.There’s a bitter irony to the situation. On its website, Step Up For Students applauds itself for its commitment to solving unequal educational attainment and poverty and acts as if it’s eager to help minority students.“The statistics in Florida tell a painful story, where only 37 percent of African-American males graduate from high school and only 53 percent of economically disadvantaged children read at grade level,” the site reads. “The mission of Step Up For Students is to be a partner in the larger solution.”Of course, that’s only possible if voucher schools don’t actively discriminate against minority students. Yet many of them do, whether the discrimination is targeted at a student due to race, sexual orientation or another intrinsic trait. The argument that siphoning public funds to private, sectarian schools can somehow solve educational inequality is based on a deeply flawed premise, and it’s one we’ve criticized frequently at AU.

Orlando’s Local 10 News reports that VanDyke was told to change her hair or face expulsion. She has chosen the latter, although her mother now say they’re in discussion with school officials about the matter.

“I’m depressed about leaving my friends and people that I've known for a while, but I'd rather have that than the principals and administrators picking on me and saying that I should change my hair,” she told the station.VanDyke’s situation should bolster growing concern that voucher programs are actually contributing to inequality. The Department of Justice is engaged in a legal battle with the state of Louisiana over its voucher program; according to the DOJ, the program has significantly impaired the process of desegregation.Report after report demonstrates that thanks to vouchers, public funds are flowing to sectarian schools that don’t meet basic educational standards. Faith Christian Academy, which includes a detailed doctrinal statement in its Student Handbook and requires a minister’s recommendation for prospective students, has no business receiving the state’s money solely on the basis of its sectarian nature. Its absurd reaction to VanDyke’s natural hair is further evidence that voucher programs don’t present an effective solution to inequality.The voucher experiment has clearly failed. Eliminating these programs might not protect students like VanDyke from discrimination, but it would at least ensure that Florida taxpayers aren’t funding it.