Republicans have been pushing vouchers in Florida, despite the fact that voters turned them down in 2012 by a decisive margin.
Republicans have been calling for STEM education (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) at the same time that they want children to go to school where creationism is taught as science.
Republicans claim they want more accountability but schools receiving vouchers will not be held to any accountability standards.
Republicans say they want a “great” teacher in every classroom but teachers in voucher schools need not be certified.
Bob Sikes points out the contradictions in this post.
Voters still oppose vouchers by a 55-42 margin, according to recent polls.
Sikes writes that as more privatization zealots assume high rank in the legislature, “The drip, drip, drip of revelations which continue to discredit Florida’s voucher program may be the only thing standing in the way of the republican agenda to crush the state’s public school system.”
That and Florida’s alert parents, who do not want their children or their taxes to underwrite religious schools or charter corporations.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Are there any studies, analysis, etc on whether charter supporters push for vouchers after they push for charters because charters pull from private schools?
The “choice” coalition is a POLITICAL coalition – and I recognize there’s nuance and there are lots of different flavors of ed reformers – but I think it’s fair to say that the furthest out on the “choice” spectrum support charters AND vouchers. There are only X number of students in any given area. Is part of this an attempt to spread some state money to private schools to protect them from losses due to charters? That was my sense in Ohio, that we got unlimited and deregulated charters followed by legislation expanding vouchers, and the religious schools were part of the POLITICAL coalition that pushed both policies.
I know I saw an analysis that said Philadelphia charters were pulling from Catholic schools there. Is that true of all cities (different religious groups, obviously, depending on city)? If you had a group of people who went to private schools not because they are huge fans of private schools but because they rejected the public schools and they were paying tuition at a private school, and then a free charter became available, isn’t that a draw to leave the private school and head for the charter? Where does that leave private schools? Needing vouchers to stay open?
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Chiara, the major political impetus for the charter movement comes from far-right, anti-government groups like ALEC, the American Federation for Children, and the Walton Family Foundation. They prefer vouchers but no state or city has ever voted for vouchers, so charters are the next best thing. The legislature endorses vouchers despite public opposition.
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Interesting. Florida just passed a law allowing guns virtually everywhere. Same mindset? They disenfranchised voters and allowed G. W. to win the presidency and look at where that has led us. They certainly are leaders!!!!
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Reblogged this on 21st Century Theater.
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