“Multiple key legislators WANT TO BRING THIS TO KANSAS and they refuse to put provisions into bills that would prevent this kind of abuse even though we keep pointing out stories like this one. The inescapable conclusion is that the abuse is a feature, not a bug. For what feels like the bazillionth time, Florida is a cautionary tale, not a model. Just say no to ESAs and other vouchers.
“As Legum notes, ‘Florida has delegated the administration of the vouchers to two private nonprofit organizations, Step Up for Students and AAA Scholarship Foundation. These nonprofits generate revenue based on how many students they can attract. So, they are incentivized to meet the demands of parents who receive vouchers.’ Though theme-park tickets weren’t originally an approved expense, Step Up for Students reversed course after parents complained.
“In the Facebook posts, parents treat the program like it’s their private candy jar. They’re right: It is. What Legum uncovered isn’t abuse, exactly. Rather, the program works as designed. Homeschooling parents now enjoy the financial resources and freedom the state of Florida denies public educators. That’s a deliberate choice on the part of Florida lawmakers and a natural outcome of the parental-rights movement…
“The program provides beneficial resources for homeschooling parents, but it has little control over how those resources are used. It is entirely possible for a parent to buy a big-screen television under PEP and use it to screen creationist content that has no basis in science. What, then, has a child truly learned? They could take their child to Disney while failing to teach them to read. The state of Florida has placed a level of faith in parents that it never granted public educators. As a consequence, it’s not clear if PEP can really benefit children…
“Parental-rights activists say they know what’s best for their children. Florida is taking them at their word. If parents fail, as some inevitably will, children will bear the cost.”
See full article at https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/09/school-vouchers-are-dysfunctional-by-design.html?fbclid=IwAR2oUF4CQ-IfkECe93GtW0GVlpu9NHI2N6L62RCXsjeRlBCEqeWyG8Pikfw
Originally posted to Facebook, Sept. 12th, 2023