Time to tear the #voucher system up by its abhorrent roots #education

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LZb7BY4yIDQ

 

Public school groups urge Whitmer to reject Trump school choice program

The head of the K-12 Education Alliance of Michigan, Robert McCann, said that would violate the Michigan Constitution's prohibition on spending public money on private schools. 

 “Instead of money going directly to private schools, which would be blocked by Michigan's constitution, it creates a third party that the money goes to first and then ultimately ends up benefiting the private school anyway,” McCann said…

 https://www.michiganpublic.org/education/2026-05-11/public-school-groups-urge-whitmer-to-reject-trump-school-choice-program

In Iowa, school choice is booming. Some public schools are hurting : NPR

"It's getting harder and harder to teach in public education," said Allred, who grew emotional talking about the shifting demographics and the pressure they put on public schools. Soon, Allred expects to hear for certain if Cleveland is going to be closed.

 "Someone needs to love and care for these kids that nobody cares about. And it's not that the parents don't care. They don't have the access and know the federal laws to get them somewhere. And even if they did, they might be denied."…

 https://www.npr.org/2026/04/19/nx-s1-5683199/education-school-choice-iowa-students-charter-school-cedar-rapids

 

Opponents raise alarm over school vouchers in GOP budget bill

"We oppose creating a $20 billion tax credit voucher scheme and allowing 529 accounts to be used for home schooling," Marc Egan, the director of government relations for the union, wrote in a letter to the House Ways and Means Committee…

https://thehill.com/homenews/education/5302600-school-vouchers-school-choice-gop-budget-bill/ 

 

Trump picks former WWE executive Linda McMahon for education secretary

In a statement, Trump extolled the "incredible" job McMahon, the billionaire co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), has been doing as transition team co-chair and said: "As Secretary of Education, Linda will fight tirelessly to expand 'Choice' to every State in America, and empower parents to make the best Education decisions for their families. … We will send Education BACK TO THE STATES, and Linda will spearhead that effort."…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/19/trump-nominates-linda-mcmahon-education-secretary

Don’t Fall For the School Choice Week Hype: Private School Vouchers Are Bad For Everyone | Americans United

Starting this week, proponents of private school voucher schemes will be touting National School Choice Week – but what they won’t be touting is all the ways that vouchers harm public education and religious freedom.....
https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/don-t-fall-for-the-school-choice-week-hype-private-school-vouchers-are-bad

Voters in this Colorado County Just Sent Betsy DeVos a Helluva Message – Mother Jones

The election of seven anti-voucher candidates to Douglas County’s school board means a likely end to its controversial school choice program.....
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/11/voters-in-this-colorado-county-just-sent-betsy-devos-a-helluva-message/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=social#

What the ‘Government Schools’ Critics Really Mean - The New York Times

When President Trump recently proposed his budget for “school choice,” which would cut more than $9 billion in overall education spending but put more resources into charter schools and voucher programs, he promised to take a sledgehammer to what he has called “failing government schools.” That is harsh language for the places most of us call public schools, and where nearly 90 percent of American children get their education. But in certain conservative circles, the phrase “government schools” has become as ubiquitous as it is contemptuous.....
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/31/opinion/donald-trump-school-choice-criticism.html?_r=0

Betsy DeVos pushes school choice in speech to advocacy group, gives no specifics

The Trump administration is proposing “the most ambitious expansion” of school choice in American history, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced Monday while giving few details on how the program would work.

“We must offer the widest number of quality options to every family and every child,” DeVos said in a speech in Indianapolis. “We stand on the verge of the most significant opportunity we have ever had to drag American education out of the Stone Age and into the future.”...
http://www.denverpost.com/2017/05/22/devos-pushes-school-choice-gives-no-specifics/

Why It's So Hard To Know Whether School Choice Is Working -- NPR

It's hard to know how schools of choice — charter or private — are performing. Researchers say that's precisely because they are schools of choice. But here's what we do know. ...
http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2017/05/21/522051355/why-its-so-hard-to-know-whether-school-choice-is-working

Betsy DeVos compares education to Uber or Lyft, but it's what's missing that's most disturbing

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos showed just how much she hates the very idea of public education in a major speech on “school choice” at the Brookings Institution. DeVos either doesn’t understand or refuses to acknowledge that if the United States is going to educate all of its kids, not just the lucky ones, we need to think about education as a public good, not a series of fragmented, privatized pieces. DeVos drew a comparison that tells us a lot about how she sees education—and what she doesn’t want to see:...
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/1648769

Trump's 'School Choice' Plan: Religious Fundamentalism at Taxpayer Expense

Religious curricula funded by tax-credit school vouchers have become a cash cow for many private schools....
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/trumps-school-choice-plan-religious-fundamentalism-taxpayer-expense

The Next Step in the Trump-DeVos Plan to Send Taxpayer Money to Religious Schools

Why Florida is the new darling for school choice boosters....
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/03/betsy-devos-donald-trump-florida-school-choice-vouchers

The Hard Truth About ‘School Choice’ That Trump Wants To Ignore

President Donald J. Trump visited a Catholic school in Orlando today for what has been described as a “listening session” on “school choice.”

In other words, a rally for private school vouchers. Trump, kids in school uniforms, and claims about widespread success of a government program may make for good political theater. But, “alternative facts” and anecdotes are a terrible basis for policy. The truth is that vouchers masquerading as “school choice” are a failure....
https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/the-hard-truth-about-school-choice-that-trump-wants-to-ignore

Vouchers don’t help disadvantaged students, regardless of what DeVos thinks

A new report finds little to praise in school vouchers....
https://thinkprogress.org/vouchers-dont-help-students-73d120597c35#.n7kjm03hn

DeVos Faces Anger Over Remark on Historically Black Colleges (The New York Times)

The education secretary called the institutions "real pioneers when it comes to school choice."
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/28/us/politics/betsy-devos-historically-black-colleges-statement.html

The False Promise Of ‘School Choice Week’

Yesterday marked the start of School Choice Week, an event conjured up by the forces that want to divert as much money as possible from the public school system to private (mostly religious) institutions.

School Choice Week is now seven years old, but past events haven’t persuaded Americans to embrace vouchers. Organizers usually find a washed-up band to endorse the idea – a few years ago, it was the Jonas Brothers – and every year there is, for some inexplicable reason, a school choice dance. Rallies are held, and government officials are asked to issue proclamations.

Most years it’s all rather pedestrian – but this year, advocates are excited because they believe they have some momentum. Sadly, they may be right about that....
https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/the-false-promise-of-school-choice-week

Trump's education pick says reform can 'advance God's Kingdom'

The billionaire philanthropist whom Donald Trump has tapped to lead the Education Department once compared her work in education reform to a biblical battleground where she wants to "advance God's Kingdom."

Trump’s pick, Betsy DeVos, a national leader of the school choice movement, has pursued that work in large part by spending millions to promote the use of taxpayer dollars on private and religious schools....
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/betsy-devos-education-trump-religion-232150?cmpid=sf