When Betsy DeVos piously explains that she is wild for “great public schools,” please remember that she has spent most of her life advocating for alternatives to public schools. Can anyone recall her advocating for any public schools?
The group she founded and funded, American Federation for Children, just ran TV ads in Arizona thanking Governor Doug Ducey and his allies in the legislature for expanding the state’s voucher program, which will allow public funds to flow to religious and private schools.
AFC never loses an opportunity to support anything but public schools. It won’t be happy until every child in the nation attends a religious or private schools. It is never a friend of public education.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
What a shame that the governor, lawmakers and lobbyists couldn’t find time or money to do anything for kids in public schools- the vast majority of students in the state.
They must feel they can take political support from public school parents for granted.
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I was delighted to hear of the passage of school choice accounts in the Grand Canyon State. This is definitely a win for the parents and children of Arizona. Although only about 5000 or so families will participate initially, the program will grow, and soon nearly every family in Arizona, will be able to participate, if they choose to.
This will be especially beneficial to the parents of special needs children, Native American children, and children of military families.
Read more about it at:
http://dailysignal.com/2017/04/10/arizona-scored-a-big-win-with-school-choice-heres-how-it-will-help-children/
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I’m all for parents choosing the school for their children. However, if they choose to send their kids to private and/or religious schools then no tax dollars should go to support them. Pretty simple, eh, Chas!?!
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Yes. Parents have Always had Choice. Send your students to free appropriate public education or pay for private schools.
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Good afternoon, my Missouri fisher friend. The boat has already left the dock on this one. Public education will no longer mean public run education, only public FUNDED education. The Red Diaper teachers can all go back to Europe OR reconsider whether a job in the private sector might be to their taste afterall.
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I don’t share your edudeformer optimism, (perhaps self-delusion might be a better phrase), Harlan, or on that boat even being seaworthy.
Good to see you back. Hope all is well with you and yours!
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Arizona has a savings account program, where parents can save their own money, to use to educate their children. Check it out.
https://www.edchoice.org/school-choice/programs/arizona-empowerment-scholarship-accounts/
This way, the parents are paying for the educational choice, and no tax money is involved.
The money (the parents money) can even be used for tutoring, and other related educational expenses.
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Sounds fine at first sounding.
I would assume that it is mainly well-to-do parents who have sufficient funds at the end of the month to put into savings. I also assume there is some kind of tax break which then serves to give benefits to the well to do. At least that is how those things usually work. I guess it is all well and good if one can take advantage of it.
What if one can’t?
Doesn’t seem much of a benefit for those who can’t.
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I am not at all happy to read comments like “Red Diapers”. No welcome to the person who left such a rude comment. I do not come to this blog for these types of comments. Be civil or don’t post.
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We are used to Harlan. He has been making rude comments for years. Ignore him.
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Sereia,
I found it rather amusing, myself. But then again, I’m about as thick skinned as they come, except for when people put words in my mouth, and then, well let’s just say I come back full bore. I prefer to be accepting of verbal jabs because I dish it out in similar fashion.
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@alwayslearning: I suggest that you read the article. Parents have had the choice to send their children to private/parochial school(at their own expense) since 1925. (see Pierce v. Society of Sisters 1925)
Public Education is not free. It is paid for with tax dollars. In Arizona, (and other states), parents will now be paying for education only once. Only the rich can afford to pay school taxes, and also tuition. This is truly a “progressive” program, because it gives similar (NOT ALL) choices to all Arizonans, and not just the rich.
What we are seeing in Arizona (and other states), is the public funding following the child, and not the institution.
Arizona parents now have the ability to craft an “a la carte” educational experience for their children. The savings account proceeds can be used for tutoring, textbooks, and other education-related expenses. Unused funds, can be “rolled over”, for future educational expenses. This is a special boon, to parents of handicapped and special-needs children.
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The savings program enables Arizona parents to do exactly that. The parents save their money in the savings account. The ESA money is used for tuition, books, tutoring,etc. No tax money is involved.
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Charles, I don’t think you have a grip on reality when it comes to education issues. Just think about choice….the schools also have a choice to NOT take students for any reason they see fit. Who will take the behavior problem?…certainly NOT the elite private school. The article states that a child’s parents will receive $5300 to apply towards a private school, but from where I come from (MD), that means the parents will have to come up with $3000 – $20,000 more to enroll their child in a private or religious school. You tell me how the middle class and poor are supposed to get that kind of money every single year.
I probably shouldn’t even reply to your comment, since it seems you always want to enter into some kind of ridiculous debate over issues that this site is very much against. You seem to be a little too “reformy” for this site.
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Lisa, I understand reality, as much as anyone. The public schools in Arizona already take all students, including handicapped, special-needs, English learners, learning disabled, etc. With Educational Savings accounts, the public schools will continue to take the students they were taking before. This is a non-issue.
Private schools in Maryland, have higher costs than schools in Arizona, no doubt. But the (private) schools in Arizona, will be able to accommodate many, if not all students, who will use their ESA’s.
Of course, the ESA money is not enough to attend a toney private school like Phillips-Exeter or Choate. But, when the parents of Arizona are empowered with choice, choices will be there. (See the economic postulates, of Jean-Baptiste Say).
Some, not all parents, will be able to supplement the ESA funding with their own resources.
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The crooks will be there to fill the parents demands
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Hysterical laughter. Have you ever even been on the rez around Leupp, Tsaile, Shonto or Teec Nos Pas? There aren’t any choices for Native students except for the lone BIE program. Students who attend extremely rural BIE programs often are in dorm situations. Is this wonderful voucher program going to cover residential costs or transportation costs to bus them to larger communities? So tired of clueless white privilege. Shaking my head…
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Ok, I read this, and now I need to go home and shower. Yeesh.
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AFC has a way of picking great politicians.
Oklahoma state Sen. Kyle Loveless resigns amid criminal investigation
State Sen. Kyle Loveless resigned Thursday, admitting he made mistakes.
His resignation comes in the midst of both a criminal investigation and an ethics probe into his campaign finances.
http://newsok.com/article/5547064
If you recall Loveless was part of AFC Oklahoma PAC against teachers running for office.
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I find it very interesting that some of these people think that THEY ALONE have a direct connection to God. This kind of thinking is found around the world in religions of all kinds.
I wonder what God thinks of this.
A monopoly on truth? A monopoly on ultimate good? Too bad there is not a monopoly among these people, that they alone would have a monopoly on bigotry. But sadly I find that bigotry among so many of these people.
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