The Republicans are set to expand the D.C. Voucher program, even though no evaluation has shown better test scores for D.C. voucher students and a high attrition rate.
Students who get a voucher will check their constitutional rights at the door. The voucher schools may exclude students with disabilities and LGBT students. DeVos doesn’t care.
Republicans have already started moving HR 1387, the SOAR Reauthorization Act. This bill would reauthorize the DC voucher program (the only federally funded voucher program in the country), and the group that administers the program has said they expect to provide “hundreds” of new vouchers to DC students with Republicans in charge.
The bill was passed out of committee earlier this month on a party line vote, and we expect the bill to hit the House floor soon. Just as telling as the final vote on the bill was how the committee voted on amendments, and this headline says it all: GOP lawmakers refuse to protect LGBT students and those with disabilities in school voucher bill.
This is the first voucher bill being moved this year – and while Betsy DeVos refused to say during her confirmation hearing that schools taking federal money should have to abide by IDEA and provide the same services and protections to students with disabilities as public schools, members of Congress may soon have a chance to go on record themselves about this very issue when the SOAR Reauthorization bill is voted on.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Vouchers are one of the most damaging things that can happen to Public Education. Up to this point in New Mexico vouchers cannot be used for educational purposes. The State Constitution specifically denies the use of vouchers in this State. But, under Trump/DeVos all that could change and States Rights could go out the window.
On another note… NM Secretary of Education Hanna Skandera was high on the list to be one of DeVos’ Deputy Secretaries. That nominations was pulled because of Skandera’s involvement in Common Core and the PARCC. Bad news. NM is still stuck with Skandera. Good news. US will not have DeVos and Skandera working together. That would have been a disaster the US Public School System.
The Republicans, and likely some Democrats will pass the bill with little concern for the consequences for students. No one appears to care about the loss of protections for students/parents or the actual performance of schools that receive vouchers.
We need education icons like yourself to get the attention of the media to tell the truth about vouchers. The whole love affair with “choice” is baloney, and it is even more true with vouchers. The research and evidence show they have no educational value. Since there is no evidence to support their merit, the only reason for vouchers is to harm the public schools most students attend, and move money into private pockets. These are not reasonable and rational educational choices.
DeVos is a (fill in the blanks). She is pathetic.
If the FBI investigation links the malignant narcissist in the White House to Putin and Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election and he is impeached and ends up in prison for treason, will Pence or whoever becomes president depending on how many in the Trump cabinet resign and/or go to prison keep DeVos?
I don’t know why Pence should get to become President. If the campaign is guilty of treasonous acts well he was part of the Trump team. I hate to think of Ryan as President, but perhaps Democrats could manage to win his vacant house seat after seeing what the Republicans have planned for this country.
Since the election was tainted: rigged, voter suppression in some GOP-dominated states, allegations of illegal aliens voting, voters fooled by the lying, misleading Alt-Right media, interference, and manipulation from Russia/Putin, and much more, the election should declared invalid, and we do it all over again before the end of 2017.
It will be interesting what new lies the malignant narcissist would cook up since he’d need new ones now that he has lied about his lies.
I am just wondering if there is anything that DC government officials like Bowser or Holmes Norton can do to change this gross injustice? What percentage of DC’s schools are charter (I understand it is very high)? If this is the case does this not fly in the face of public education being the right OF ALL? Charters should not be allowed to take even one cent of tax payer money!!! Wondering what we educators can do?
When a charter actually does use DeVos’ policies to openly discriminate against LGBT , it would be great if every single member of the student body at that particular school to stand up and claim to be LGBT in solidarity with anti discrimination measures! Let the school close for lack of students! Let those students make a legal fight that they are being denied an education. Just wondering what a plan of action might be in the age of DeVos!!!
Nearly half the kids in DC are in charters.
I live in Fairfax county Virginia, across from our nation’s capital. The public schools in WashDC are arguably some of the worst-performing public schools in the country. Only 79% of eligible children even attend them. There are long waiting lists for the various charter schools in WashDC.
Giving more people in WashDC the chance to bail out of the terrible public schools, is an excellent idea. The SOAR program has been underway for some years, with varying levels of support.
The D.C. Schools have been reformed by Michelle Rhee
Michelle Rhee departed the DC public schools in 2010. If you are saying that she did not reform the schools properly, and get them out of being the worst in the nation, you have no argument from me!
Michelle Rhee’s deputy Kaya Henderson succeeded her. The same fake reform policies have been in place for 10 years. They believe in exactly the same policies as you. Stop calling DC a failure or admit your favorite ideas have been tried and failed
Take a look at this website:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-best-schools/5335/#main-findings
I am NOT a DC resident, and I do not necessarily support nor endorse any of the reforms initiated by either Rhee nor her successors.
Why can’t we agree, that the (public) schools in our nation’s capital are a train wreck. The schools rank at the bottom or near the bottom in almost every category. Only 79% of the eligible children even attend them.
Charles, has it occurred to you that schools look “bad” wherever there is high student poverty?
Even when there are charters and vouchers, there will still be the same poverty, and nothing changes.
Hellllloooooo.
Adding to what Diane said: “There is an achievement gap between more and less disadvantaged students in every country; surprisingly, the gap is smaller in the United States …”
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2013/january/test-scores-ranking-011513.html
So this should most surely be a violation of every DC child’s right to an education if a school taking public monies can openly discriminate against anyone based on sexual orientation, ability to speak language, a learning disability etc… Maybe the ability to stop this albatross lies in YOUTH ACTIVISM. DeVos does not “get” that many of DC’s urban dwelling youth are a lot more tolerant than her bigotry. My guess is that each school will fight back by not openly admitting their policies and perhaps having a few “token” LGBT students or whoever they are discriminating against.