A.G. Gancarski
Could Florida’s approach to K-12 be a national model?
In Nevada on Saturday, Ron DeSantis told a crowd that might be the case, as he rolled out a proposal to bring the state’s “universal school choice” model to the rest of the country.
“K through 12. We are going to be able to do, I believe, universal school choice nationally. I think we’re going to be able to do it. We’re working on how,” DeSantis said. “At least we’ll be able to bring school choice to lower and working class people.”
The Governor made the comments at an event hosted by his Never Back Down super PAC at Las Vegas Treasure Island Casino.
2023 saw an expansion of the state’s school choice program, with new categories of students eligible to receive a voucher worth $8,000 per student to go to any private school. The cost to the state was estimated at the time to be at least $642 million.
The voucher program had been limited to families making 400% or less than the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), which is about $111,000 a year for a family of four. The state has been able to meet the demand from that group, although there is a waitlist for children with special needs to get funded.
New additions include children currently enrolled in public school whose parents earn more than 400% of the federal poverty level, children currently attending private school whose families make too much for the current scholarship, called the Family Empowerment Scholarship, and even homeschooled students who agree to a certain level of state oversight.
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Anne Geggis contributed reporting
38 comments
Michael K
October 28, 2023 at 12:47 pm
Translation: I will be subservient to the Koch Brothers’ goal of destroying public education.
WhatNow
October 28, 2023 at 3:15 pm
– CORRECT. DeSantis sees eliminating America’s public education system as being a worthy endeavor. That certainly would be a worthy endeavor if one were an enemy of the United States; if one were an American citizen it would on the other hand be essentially treasonous as it would ultimately destroy the country. DeSantis appears to be anti-American and talks as if he’s either so stupid that he doesn’t realize that or is so stupid that he thinks he’s being “creatively genius.” Either way it’s stupidity.
Stopculturewars!
October 29, 2023 at 3:04 pm
He’s dumbing down and politicizing education because he wants the next generation of useful, brainwashed idiots for the far-right branch of the GOP. Nothing more, nothing less!
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Earl Pitts "America's BIG VOICE on The Right" American
October 28, 2023 at 1:31 pm
Good afternoon America,
The small numbers of the “Groomer Branch” of our Nation’s Dook 4 Brains Leftist croud is going to go on record as opposed to this as it will all but eliminate Junior coming home from school one tragic day with his ♤enis in a jar. And God only knows what mutulation these Dr. Frankenstein Groomers want to inflict on your daughters.
Thank you America,
Earl Pitts America
WhatNow
October 28, 2023 at 3:19 pm
– Do you are at least as stupid as DeSantis if not moreso? You know, there is a real difference between being humorous and speaking or writing as if you were a genuine moron.
WhatNow
October 28, 2023 at 3:20 pm
“SO you ate at least…” – Sorry for the typo.
WhatNow
October 28, 2023 at 3:22 pm
ARE at least… lol… I need to type more slowly seeing as there’s no ability to edit one’s post here once you hit that “Post” button.
rick whitaker
October 28, 2023 at 3:23 pm
earl is clueless. he’s an 82 year old redneck still living in the 70’s. can you believe that he comes off as actually thinking that he is funny. he’s the guy who tells a joke and everyone rolls their eyes and of course doesn’t laugh.
JD
October 28, 2023 at 3:20 pm
F@ck off EarL Shitts, nobody thinks you’re cute, funny, or intelligent.
You give mentally handicap a bad name because you choose to be stupid.
Parental School Choice is a myth perpetuated by grifters wanting to suck off the public dole – they are the true welfare queens.
Follow the money – one of the biggest benefactors were religious schools and Mom’s for Liberty founder’s father (that owns a voucher funded private school). Then lastly talk about a certain FL representative that’s connected to another online academy and “private” schools. How about voucher recipiants don’t need to have the schools’ policies and curriculum vetted nor their teachers? Lastly how about the freaking charter schools in multiple districts that were ran into the ground and had to be absorbed by the public-school coffers? This is the only reason the Mini-Van Taliban wanted to infiltrate the school boards: Grift!
All under the guise of protecting students from non-existent groomers.
So, GTFO and STFU, you turd in the punch bowl Shitts.
My Take
October 28, 2023 at 3:28 pm
Mini-Van Taliban
=====
Excellent!
Earl Pitts "America's BIG VOICE on The Right" American
October 28, 2023 at 4:19 pm
JD,
I’m going to have to ask you to stop disrespecting my Beautiful Black welfare queens. It was you white Dook 4 Brains Leftys who put our Beautiful Black Queens in the “No Baby Daddy Welfare Queen” situation for you twisted white folks gain.
JD, Earl Pitts American, calls em as he sees em. And JD, You are one disgusting Honkey Fool.
Other than that “Honkey JD” Have an Earl Pitts American Day.
EPA
JD
October 28, 2023 at 4:25 pm
You mean the corporate welfare queens of course – the ones that own and rule the Republican politicians. You see, your great wisdom hasn’t figured out that you’re 3rd or 4th level down in your serfdom. Basically, the boot-licker at the pig trough. How’s that pig sh!t taste there EarL? Is that why you want people to relax their sphincters? So, your shit trough gets full?
rick whitaker
October 28, 2023 at 4:31 pm
jd earl is too stupid to understand what you’re talking about. he doesn’t know what a corporate welfare queen means.
MH/Duuuval
October 29, 2023 at 9:45 am
Execs at Step Up for Students pay is determined by how much money flows their their hands on the way to parents and schools. It’s nominally a nonprofit, but the execs beat the drum for money voucher money that the skim as it passes through. And, apparently they cannot handle this year’s huge increase in vouchers. Execs still get their cut, but parents and students may have to wait a bit.
rick whitaker
October 28, 2023 at 1:53 pm
WARNING ⚠ TROLL COMMENT BY EARL SHITTS
rick whitaker
October 28, 2023 at 2:01 pm
is desantis gets his way white christians will dominate the country even more than they do now. the majority of college degrees will be bible study. it won’t be the king james version, it will be the dictator desantis version.
Earl Pitts "America's BIG VOICE on The Right" American
October 28, 2023 at 2:11 pm
Great idea to follow-up your first wacky contrarian Dook 4 Brains Lefty comment on me with yet another comment increadably even more wacky !!!!
Thanks my man Rick,
You are the best at keeping me looking the absloute best to our beloved wide range of readership and my fan base.
rick whitaker
October 28, 2023 at 2:15 pm
earl quit hitting on me, i told you i’m a straight man, why don’t you give it up. i’m too young for you anyway, i’m 71 and you are 82.
Earl Pitts "America's BIG VOICE on The Right" American
October 28, 2023 at 2:38 pm
Thanks Rick,
If you let me train you on relaxing your sphincter you could make some lucky man a beautiful wife. But my own lovely Bride Mrs. Earlline Pitts American wont let me kiss any dudes so thats out. Lets just keep it an Earl the Boss Rick the Employee with neither sexing the other’s sphincters.
EPA
rick whitaker
October 28, 2023 at 3:28 pm
earl , sphincter freak, pitts. you better watch out, the christian freaks will try to deprogram you and try to pray the homosexual out of you.
JD
October 28, 2023 at 3:41 pm
Again, Earl’s got someone else’s sphincter on his mind. Groomer.
WhatNow
October 28, 2023 at 3:26 pm
– Absolutely correct, given all of the nasty “pornography” and polygamy in the REAL Bible…
My Take
October 28, 2023 at 2:43 pm
Knee-JÈRK DeSSgustus– “Now what would a dumb redneck’s opinion be here?”
My Take
October 28, 2023 at 3:24 pm
But many decades ago the bigoted rednecks–with some attachment to the local public high school via the football team–would have accused Catholic Rhonda of trying to get tax money for their many parochial schools.
rick whitaker
October 28, 2023 at 4:18 pm
when non-public schools became a profit machine, things changed. to the gop and maga cultist, it’s all about power and money. they don’t actually care about legitimate education for all.
My Take
October 28, 2023 at 7:20 pm
It started with the Bobby E. Lee Resegregation Academies in small towns and the countryside.
“Tractor Parts Counter and Mìnister’s Office Are On the Back Parking Lot”
MH/Duuuval
October 29, 2023 at 9:52 am
Yup, alternative schools and vouchers
emerged after WWII when desegregation appeared on the horizon.
The left got into the picture in the 1970s with books like “Summerhill” touting freeing up children from the bureaucratic regimen of public schools.
Sectarians got their break when Ronnie R was president.. Afterwards, state governors became experts at education, like Jeb!, who combined standards and sectarianism
Marvin M.
October 28, 2023 at 4:29 pm
K-12 doesn’t even work in Florida – unless you think online Kindergarten is an acceptable choice.
Before COVID: “School choice! You can homeschool with online resources!”
During COVID: “We have to get the schools back open! Kids need to be in the same room with a teacher, and with their peers! Their emotional growth will be stunted if they use only online education! It’s inferior! So many educational declines! Open schools now!!!!!!”
Now: “School choice! You can homeschool with online resources!”
Here’s just a small sample of questions anyone should ask and get answered to their satisfaction before we all go gaga about school vouchers:
– Does a parents school choice provide free daily transportation like public schools do (unless you live close enough to walk or bike)? Lots of private schools do not. So, if a parent, because of their job requirements cannot do the transportation, they effectively cannot use the voucher. This is a big time concern especially in rural areas.
– Can a school decline to accept voucher students, Part One? Perhaps the good school you want your kid to go only accepts kids after some sort of aptitude test. Or if the parents profess a certain religion. Will that be allowed? Can private schools “opt out” of taking voucher students? How does that limit the parents’ choice for their kid?
– Can a school decline to accept voucher students, Part Two? Can private schools refuse to take voucher students because of no more capacity? I sure as heck hope so! A lot of private schools are pretty small, and cannot physically take on many more students without making a huge investments in physical facilities and hiring more teachers and staff.
After which they will raise the tuition. And (if it wasn’t already) it will be above the voucher amount.
So many questions, but Ron just acts like the magic words “parental choice” will get people to vote for him. He needs to answer these questions. Will all schools in America be required to take voucher students, if he goes ahead with his plan? Yes or no Ron.
rick whitaker
October 29, 2023 at 6:11 pm
school vouchers let religious fanatics’, racists, and elitists use taxpayers money to help destroy the public school system. countries with weak or no public school systems, are generally weak countries. i’m 100% against vouchers. raygun was the worst. he dissolved many scholarship and grants for working class people and replaced them with the student loan fiasco. the right wing want profit anyway they can get it and no middle class. the maga cultists want chaos.
My Take
October 28, 2023 at 10:27 pm
Next, simply for votes and not his backers benefits, he’ll propose the six or eight grand go to ho,meschooling parents. Even ones themselves who dropped out in eighth grade.
MH/Duuuval
October 29, 2023 at 9:53 am
Aren’t education savings accounts the same thing?
TomBob
October 29, 2023 at 12:26 am
We’re working on how,” DeSantis said. “At least we’ll be able to bring school choice to lower and working class people.”😂 Lower class. What a dick
My Take
October 29, 2023 at 4:40 pm
He is pretty familiar with low class, I must say.
But the “lower class”? He should have used his Yale education and said Lumpenproletariat. Few would know what it meant to take offense.
Joaquin Petro Windham
October 29, 2023 at 5:25 pm
we Oopah Loompah Drudges ..
Joaquin Petro Windham
October 29, 2023 at 5:19 pm
..so now he’s conflating “Working Class People,” with a “Lower” class of people ..
rick whitaker
October 29, 2023 at 6:17 pm
school choice means dumbing down america, unless you are a white christian nationalist, like desantis. why did you florida people elect that nazi twice? i’m from another state. i left florida years ago and wouldn’t dare go back.
Joe
October 31, 2023 at 1:11 pm
Pure grift from rich old cranks who hate their fellow Americans and are terrified of everything they don’t understand.
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