“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...
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New York 1776 Project is trying to impose right-wing politics on Kansas school boards
This time they’re going after Blue Valley, Lansing, Chanute and Baldwin City. “In Blue Valley, 1776 Project members were the lone votes to ban LGBT-themed books last year. And one of the Olathe winners — Brian Connell — this spring was censured for his ‘pattern of outbursts, yelling and storming out of meetings.’ District staffers said his behavior made them feel unsafe. So things are going great, obviously… “[I]it’s dreary and depressing to see local school board races nationalized in this way… “Our national political scene is seemingly custom-designed as a rage production machine. Get people angry about...
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Leave a Comment Kansas Lawmakers Disparage Public Education to Home-schoolers
Senators Molly Baumgardner and Beverly Gossage and Representatives Chris Croft and Rebecca Schmoe gave disparaging comments about public schools and promoted homeschooling and preventing any oversight of homeschools at a recent event which the Kansas City Star addressed. We’d also like to know if any of them have seen “Shiny Happy People” on Netflix. “I have nothing against either home schooling or faith-based schools like the Catholic elementary school and three Catholic universities I’m grateful to have attended. But I never thought that the state should pay for that education. “And I do hear comments that ‘we do...
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Leave a Comment Abundant evidence indicates Kansans should keep saying no to ESA programs
“Studies indicate that after traditional voucher expansions, the private school market floods with new pop-up providers. That’s exactly what is happening with the ESA-style expansions in Arizona now. Many new schools are nearly or entirely funded by the ESA payments—just as the average private school in older voucher programs was. Many of these schools will quickly close. There’s also existing academic evidence predicting that traditional voucher programs incentivize existing private schools to raise tuition, using the new dollars as something of a public subsidy. And that is exactly what recent reports are showing with ESA passage, with existing...
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