DeSantis' Universal School Choice Vouchers Could Defund 'Woke' Public Schools

DeSantis' Universal School Choice Vouchers Could Defund 'Woke' Public Schools (businessinsider.com)

As a soon-to-be parent of Florida public school students, I am somewhat concerned.

"Conservative commentator Richard Hanania tweeted the law would "bankrupt the entire corrupt system" of public schools: "We're watching the liberation of childhood." "

There is a lot of noise around this topic, but I feel that this conservative blogger is right: the GOP is openly attacking the public school as an institution. As a fascist fringe would.

 

Hm. Ya know...maybe MTG has something with her "National Divorce"...

 

Hey... I live there now!


In freakin' Tennessee, there are about 35% Democrats. NO state is a single party monolith, no matter the stereotypes. You'd have to "divorce" on the basis of individual households. Although, it would be hilarious if Disney lawyers find some loopholes and manage to secede from Florida. 51st state called The People's Commonwealth of Mouse.

 

Interesting question...if DeSantis offers private school vouchers he will have to publish eligibity standards for schools. If he attempts to bar schools that otherwise meet his standards except that they teach about slavery and segregation he might find himself sued for violating free speech. Regulation of speech content by the government is pretty prohibited. As a Harvard Law grad he knows this full well.

 

Perhaps I'm mistaken but, I assume much of what DeSantis has proposed and even enacted would found to be unconstitutional?

Off on a tangent, it seems that the DeSantis unannounced bid for the White House seems to be unraveling? I wonder if he's even going to ever make his run official?

 

Yes, he's pretty brazen.

 

His polling numbers over the past couple months have been tanking. A few months ago he had numbers that came close to Trump's.

He apparently went to DC in the hopes of picking up some endorsements. He came back empty handed.

His interactions with Disney make him look desperate and out of control. Desperate is a bad look for a Presidential candidate.

 

To the extent that the courts will interpret it that way. That's why one side is really working the refs.

 

I hope that someday the GOP will start putting forward sane candidates again like, Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney. Baby steps first, I guess, first we have to hope for GOP candidates that don't try to destroy our democracy when they don't like the election results.

 

It's not the party leaders; it's the voters. They will have nothing to do with those types. DeSantis is one of them, but he's doing everything he can to belie it (to little effect).

The only person who can supplant Trump is someone who can out-Trump Trump.

 

It's horrifying to watch but I can't look away. Doubtless I am jinxing the whole country by saying this but I don't think Trump can win a general election. At some point even the GOP Base will decide that winning matters more than ideology.

 

GOP is not openly attacking public schools, it actually a Democratic initiative - It follow's Florida's efforts to expand school choice.
Parents freedom of choice.
The voucher can be used to pay for private school tuition, for homeschooling resources (if homeschooling parents are willing to abide by state guidelines) or, because of new "education savings accounts," to pay for other school-related costs.

It will have effect on Public schools, the concern is real and legitimate.
In many states, funding of public schools depends on the #s of enrolled students.
“Florida’s families overwhelmingly count on their neighborhood public schools as the best place for their children to get the education they deserve and need," said Florida Education Assosciation President Andrew Spar in a release. "

Proponents say its a freedom of choice and a democratic law - that the voucher can be used to offer parents a choice in where to send their children to school by giving them a leg up on private school tuition and other educational costs.

“Educational choice also means you have the ability to have your child go somewhere where they learn all the basics, but they also have their values and their faith respected. And that’s also very important,” said House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast.

The legislation will go into effect July 1, so eligible students and parents will be able to use the voucher for the upcoming school year.
The law further specifies that priority in receiving these scholarship funds will be given to students whose household income does not exceed 185 percent of the federal poverty level, or who are in foster or out-of-home care.

"education savings account"

 

National data for the current school year is not yet available. If I'm not mistaken it will be available in early May.
For now, schools have an infusion of federal rescue money that must be spent by 2024.
Public schools are in recovery mode due to horrible affect of the pandemic winch lead to crisis in public schools.
Many educators predicted in 2022 that fed-up teachers will probably quit, exacerbating the problem.
And they say political attacks add to the burnout. Teachers are under scrutiny over lesson plans, and critics have gone after teachers unions, which for much of the pandemic demanded remote learning.
In 2023 some of the issues normalized.

An old article on why public schools are failing.

https://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/why-82-of-public-schools-are-failing

 

Yes they do. My link even had a direct quote. Your own post contains another, poorly veiled one.

Again, I am a parent of a current Texas middle school student, soon-to-be rising Florida public school Freshman. I am worrying. About school finances, but also what effects on curriculum and school spirit that can stem from Comrade DeSantis being all diligent in his ideologicheskaya rabota ("ideology work", the first and by far the most important concern of every good Party functionary. Lerner lived in Soviet Union, he knows what I mean).

I jest, of course. The style of governance that is emerging is more like that of a post-Soviet, north mordor one: help friendly businesses, promote cronies, and engage in lots and lots of talk about duhovnye skrepy ("spiritual bonds", ideology on national superiority built on Christian religion, homophobia, and xenophobia). Oh, and: crush your opponents by siccing a fire marshall and sanepidstantsia (health inspection) on their businesses. You know, what Gubernator Ronald Vladimirovich Desantnikov openly threatens Disney World with. But thanks God he keeps socialism at bay, amiright?

 

This is so opposite the observable truth that I just can't read the rest of the post.

 

No, its not obvious, because to me its democratic process that is taking place in Florida. I expect that political wrestling aside, the freedom of choice that is being offered will have some democratic support.
And Public schools are failing not only in Florida but in many states.
Even better funded Public Schools don't invest in smaller classes, higher quality of teachers etc.

 

I'll guess that the base problem here is that Fox listeners think that they are getting the news. In reality they are being told lies. This was proven in the Dominion vs Fox case. The judge ruled that Fox knowingly lied over and over again about the 2020 election. As a side note it is the reason that most Republicans believe that Trump won the 2020 election. Anyway Fox lied because they wanted viewers to continue watching Fox. They were worried about the stock price tanking if viewers moved on to other options.

So anyway Fox is painting a fake reality regarding what is happening in the school system.