Public schools are not “government schools,” state and federally-subsidized school choice and tax credit scholarships are not solutions to the challenges our students face, and Florida is no model for Kansas education.

“Education freedom means something much narrower: exiting public school with the assistance of state and federal dollars. The education quality students receive after they exit, the segregation it might produce, and the exclusion and discrimination students might face are not matters the administration is worried about.

“Its tax schemes are just as antithetical to public education. Florida is supposed to be the model. When the Florida Supreme Court held that the state could not use public school money on private school vouchers, Florida developed a tax credit workaround. For every dollar donated to the state’s private tuition fund, Florida gives donors $1 back on their income tax bill. This allowed Florida to create the illusion it was not raiding public schools.

“Reality defies the ruse. Florida has steadily increased tax credits for private schoolsfor a decade. The cost in tax revenue is approaching $1 billion a year. During the same period, Florida has cut public school fundingby 22% per student. Florida’s public school funding now ranks 41st in the nation.”

Read more here: https://www.usatoday.com/…/donald-trump-educati…/4738012002/

Originally posted to Facebook 2/26/2020.