By John McClaughry
The Reason foundation’s Christian Barnard published an encouraging story on school choice advances in six states.
In South Carolina, the governor signed a law creating a Trust Fund to fund Education Savings accounts for students who are eligible for Medicaid. Participating students will receive up to $6,000 in scholarship funds that can be used for instructional services, materials, and private school tuition.
In Oklahoma, legislators sent a bill the governor to create a refundable tax credit program where families can receive up to $7,500 per child to pay for private school tuition, depending on their household income. The bill would also establish a $1,000 per child income tax credit for homeschooling families.
Indiana lawmakers passed a bill that expands the state’s multiple school choice programs to near universality. The state’s programs are now available to families below 400% of free and reduced lunch eligibility.
Montana legislation created an ESA for students with disabilities. The amount of roughly $7,000 per student includes state and local district funds.
In North Carolina, legislators are considering three significant pieces of school choice legislation: One would provide more funding to charter schools; One would expand the state’s ESA program to be universal; and a third would create a cross-district public school open enrollment law.
Nebraska lawmakers passed a bill to create a tax credit scholarship program for students previously enrolled in public schools or entering kindergarten or ninth grade.
When will Vermont ever appear on such a list?
John McClaughry is vice president of the Ethan Allen Institute. Reprinted with permission from the Ethan Allen Institute Blog.
As VT public-school monopoly failures are juxtaposed against the success of students in School Choice states, pressure will build on the legislature to replicate that success. After all, that is the intended result of Federalism and States Rights – to create and sustain democracy’s laboratories. Only the stupid fool would continue to cut off one’s nose to spite their face.
Ah… but how stupid and foolish is the VT legislature? … or the public-education special interest groups stalking their prey at the great taxpayer funded education watering hole? It may be, I’m afraid, that the only stupid fools in Vermont are the people who choose to stay here.
“Against stupidity we have no defense. Neither protests nor force can touch it. Reasoning is of no use. Facts that contradict personal prejudices can simply be disbelieved — indeed, the fool can counter by criticizing them, and if they are undeniable, they can just be pushed aside as trivial exceptions. So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self-satisfied. In fact, they can easily become dangerous, as it does not take much to make them aggressive. For that reason, greater caution is called for than with a malicious one. Never again will we try to persuade the stupid person with reasons, for it is senseless and dangerous.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer
No it will never take root in Vermont because it would hinder Vermont schools from doing their “Equity work” aka forcing equal outcomes aka socialism.