Educators in Kentucky expressed their opposition to the voucher legislation that was rushed through the Legislature without careful deliberation of its likely negative impact on the state’s public schools. Nor was there any discussion of the research showing the harm that vouchers do to the children that use them or the high attrition rates of voucher schools.
Acting Fayette Superintendent Marlene Helm on Tuesday issued a strong statement before the House and Senate approved a bill in which private school tuition in Fayette and other counties could be paid from newly created education opportunity accounts.
“Quite honestly, I am dismayed that a bill of this magnitude has been brought forward this late in the session without thorough, public discussion with various stakeholders,” Helm said.
In addition to Fayette, Jefferson and Kenton counties, House Bill 563 now adds Boone, Hardin, Daviess, Warren and Campbell counties — all with populations of 90,000 — to those in which private school tuition amounts can be paid out of the scholarship funds.
The Kentucky Senate Appropriations and Revenue committee passed the bill 6-2. Later, the full Senate approved it with a 21-15 vote as did the House 48-47 in a marathon session Tuesday, the last day of the General Assembly before the veto recess. The bill will now be sent to the Governor for signing. Lawmakers will come back on March 29 and 30 to override any gubernatorial vetoes.
“This bill is dangerous. This bill is bad education policy. It’s bad fiscal policy. And its bad public policy. It does nothing to protect our students and their families or to assure that they receive a high quality education,” Kentucky Education Association President Eddie Campbell told the committee Tuesday…
In voicing his opposition, Campbell said private schools will be charging for many of the services that their tuition already covers. The services are already provided by public schools for free under the law, he said.
Campbell said the bill prohibits oversight of the education service provider that will receive the donations to distribute to families. He said providers are not required to have credentials or background checks. He said the bill opens the door for discrimination on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation and other fronts…
Kentucky Education Commissioner Jason Glass said he was concerned with the bill on multiple fronts.
“It is being rushed through the legislative process with little effort at gaining input or correction of obvious flaws and predictable negative consequences which the current language contains,” Glass said after the full House vote. “This legislation is of potentially enormous consequence – which begs a more thorough approach to considering both the public school choice and tax credit aspects.”
Jim Flynn, executive director of the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents, said his group remains steadfast in their opposition to any privatization of public funds for education “–this bill provides that in the form of tax credits for education opportunity accounts.”
The lobbyist for the ultra-conservative, libertarian EdChoice organization, formerly the Rose and Milton Friedman Foundation, was delighted with passage of the voucher bill. EdChoice lobbies for privatization of public schools and th
Read more here: https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/education/article249964599.html#storylink=cpy
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This is the “RUSH to HIDE.”
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I have to wonder if these vouchers are a retaliatory tactic for the teachers’ walkout in the “red for ed” marches. Likewise, Arizona is expanding vouchers with the same sense of punitive vengeance against defiant teachers. It seems like backlash against public school teachers that dared to take a stand.
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Perhaps it goes a lot further back than Red For Ed . How does 1992 sound . I would say further back , but there was no reason to fret when they were winning the elections.
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Curious what percentage of Kentucky schools are offering full-time in-person learning.
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So the attack on Public Schools is new and tied to the virus, interesting. I guess we can dismiss the last 30 years.
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I’m sure it’s 100% irrelevant, as you suggest.
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I say it was the defeat of Trump and a State that went 62% for him that spurred the action. A State Represented in the Senate by Moscow Mitch and that guy Paul with the sore ribs who claims to be a Shaman .
But how many schools were not open for any student who wanted to attend . Get back to us when you have the answer .
I suspect we will have the answer as to the disparities in how the virus spreads some time in the future(maybe) . They have been following the 60 + thousand volunteers who were vaccinated as early as last July and can not say at what rate vaccinated people transmit the virus. Yet somehow Children who have higher viral loads in their nasal passages don’t transmit this virus like they do every other virus.
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McConnell studied tribalism in a seminar at Harvard (offered by the Kennedy School of Government). McConnell relies on the type of tribalism evident in Ky. about which the NYT reported in its coverage of the Kentucky Catholic school that sent students to D.C. for an abortion protest. The protest gained national attention because of an incident related to the students and a Native American.
A student was subsequently represented by Lin Wood of Trump fame.
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