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When School Choice Isn't School Choice


Osiris

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Let's be honest about what "School Choice" means when it comes out of the mouths of Republicans, who claim they just want more choices along side the public system. All well and good, until you look at what House Bill 610 is proposing. The following is a breakdown of changes. I didn't compile this summary myself so I will put it in quotes:

 

"House Bill 610 makes some large changes.

This bill will effectively start the school voucher system to be used by children ages 5-17, and starts the defunding process of public schools. In addition the bill will eliminate the Elementary and Education Act of 1965, which is the nation's educational law and provides equal opportunity in education.

It would repeal ESSA (Every Students Succeeds Act):
ESSA is a big comprehensive program that covers programs for struggling learners, AP classes, ESL classes, classes for minorities such as Native Americans, Rural Education, Education for the Homeless, School Safety (Gun-Free schools), Monitoring and Compliance and Federal Accountability Programs.

The Bill also abolishes the Nutritional Act of 2012 (No Hungry Kids Act) which provides nutritional standards in school breakfast and lunch.

The bill has no wording protecting Special Needs kids, no mention of IDEA and FAPE.
Some things ESSA does for Children with Disabilities
-Ensures access to the general education curriculum.
-Ensures access to accommodations on assessments.
-Ensures concepts of Universal Design for Learning
-Includes provisions that require local education agencies to provide evidence-based interventions in schools with consistently underperforming subgroups.
-Requires states in Title I plans to address how they will improve conditions for learning including reducing incidents of bullying and harassment in schools, overuse of discipline practices and reduce the use of aversive behavioral interventions (such as restraints and seclusion)."

 

 

This can be corroborated here:

https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/610

 

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Let's be honest about what "School Choice" means when it comes out of the mouths of Republicans, who claim they just want more choices along side the public system. All well and good, until you look at what House Bill 610 is proposing. The following is a breakdown of changes. I didn't compile this summary myself so I will put it in quotes:

 

"House Bill 610 makes some large changes.

This bill will effectively start the school voucher system to be used by children ages 5-17, and starts the defunding process of public schools.

 

 

 

 

A few angles to look at here. Obviously, school funding is a hotbed item, particularly in Ohio where no politician has proposed squat (to my knowledge) to change how this is done. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled school funding (local levies) unconstitutional some time ago and there have been no changes. The politicians are scared to put there name on such a bill to change funding, because their career is more important than fixing a perceived problem.

 

The Rs want the vouchers, probably even many Ds. It gets complicated when the head R (Kasich) has his campaign financed by White Hat, a for-profit charter school group. Public funds funneled into a profit education system. So, if the main goal is to eventually defund public schools with HB 610, they have a green light.

 

I doubt this will be an easy bill to sell.

 

Public schools, while certainly flawed, have a huge purpose and impact on a community. School pride, community pride. People move to neighborhoods looking for good/great school districts.

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Of course they do Bob. And the teachers at the shittiest schools and the best schools have almost identical training and because of the Union make almost identical salary. Yet the difference in the performance of one school to another can be a pretty wide gulf.

 

Not to mention the spending per pupil doesn't really seem to correlate with the schools success.

 

I have no doubt that it's demographics and not funding that makes one school better than another. As far as vouchers they won't make much difference in Norton or Hudson or Strongsville because those Public Schools or just fine. In the bed schools it would only make a difference for parents who take enough interest to send their kids to a better system and assume the responsibility of getting them there and the extra time and effort it took. I'd Venture a guess that most parents in the shitty school districts don't care in the first place.

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I don't know much about Ohio but my state has the best public schools in the country and I don't want the federal government screwing that up for us.

So each and every one of your public schools post the exact same results? And there are no private schools?

Then you are fortunate indeed.

WSS

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again, the dishonesty and slurring of his HIghness Osiris.

 

A. It was authored by ONE REPUBLICAN. Unless you want to say that ALL DEMOCRATS

do the same things that Anthony Weiner did, STFU. Congressman King is NOT one of my good

Congressmen listees. I think he's a screwball at times like this.

 

B. You read all Ohio's bills...or you got this from...where?

 

C. This bill won't pass. Ohio has great schools...and bad schools. Good teachers, GREAT teachers,

and bad teachers. The serious problem with school funding, is if the government gets so involved

that the schools can socially engineer leftwing/progressive/communst/perverted/whatever - and ignore

the town/city's taxpayers... all hell will break loose. I hate the high property tax, who doesn't? But I'd rather

citizens fund the public schools, TO HOLD PUBLIC SCHOOLS ACCOUNTABLE TO THEM.

 

D. The Bill Ayers/Obamao/radical idea, is to have the gov totally in charge, so the schools can be programmed

to eventually undermine the status quo of believing in your country, the great history, our Flag, and decent

family values...republicans BAD, all dems GOOD.

 

E. When the local town SIGNIFICANTLY is relied upon to fund our schools, the admin/school board had better

not go off the reservation and teach only critical of U.S. history, teach perversion, etc etc etc - at the expense

of the fundament core sciences, ENGLISH, AMERICAN HISTORY, our CONSTITUTION...

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Hey no problem, Massachusetts has great schools, so do Wyoming and Minnesota.

Still I have absolutely no doubt that there are people in poor neighborhoods who would like to send their children to a better school via voucher.

Competition or more money will not make Garfield High School as good as Hudson. Or if you are not in Ohio pic any crappy school and compare it with an excellent School.

 

WSS

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I'd Venture a guess that most parents in the shitty school districts don't care in the first place.

Spot on. I agree, if the home environment doesn't embrace or encourage learning, no amount of money will fix that.

 

While teachers strive to motivate students to learn, they will struggle to get through if there is no motivation from the student.

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So each and every one of your public schools post the exact same results? And there are no private schools?

Then you are fortunate indeed.

WSS

 

Of course not, but on average MA public schools do better. And yes, there are private schools.

 

Not to mention that if you truly want to keep the federal government out of your state schools then eliminating the Department of Education would be a great first step, right?

 

WSS

 

Just because I don't want them defunding my public schools doesn't mean I want the entire department eliminated.

 

Ultimately, I have no problem with private and charter schools. I have a problem with them REPLACING instead of supplementing public schools. This bill doesn't say "Hey, we just want to supplement the school system" when they are cutting so many programs that already-strapped public schools rely on.

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The thousands of dollars parents spend to send their kids to better schools - of course they need

some help - they also still pay taxes out the wazoo that fund public schools they don't even

utilize for various reasons.

 

The leftists in our education system, including in gov agencies, have become their own worst enemies.

Going after a kid silently praying to his/her self before lunch. The stupid blurring of the intent and definition

of "separation of church and state" ... it does NOT mean that teachers are allowed to control the beliefs of

children and stop them from believing, or acting like they believe, or quietly on their free time, being who they are.

The sick business of teaching very young children about perverted subjects. What the ?

That isn't teaching - it's socially engineering as much as possible a generation that will be liberally oriented.

the list goes on and on.

 

And those liberals who think it's their duty, with the power to enforce it, to socially engineer... HATE that they don't get

a chance to do the same social engineering to students in independent schools.

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Of course not, but on average MA public schools do better. And yes, there are private schools.

 

 

Just because I don't want them defunding my public schools doesn't mean I want the entire department eliminated.

 

Ultimately, I have no problem with private and charter schools. I have a problem with them REPLACING instead of supplementing public schools. This bill doesn't say "Hey, we just want to supplement the school system" when they are cutting so many programs that already-strapped public schools rely on.

They are cutting programs because the union has a Stranglehold on the schools. I just think that a taxpayer should be allowed to have a voucher if he wants to send his kid to a private school even if the voucher doesn't cover everything.

 

WSS

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They are cutting programs because the union has a Stranglehold on the schools. I just think that a taxpayer should be allowed to have a voucher if he wants to send his kid to a private school even if the voucher doesn't cover everything.

 

WSS

 

Call me cynical but I think they are cutting programs because they want private industry to take over the education system and marginalize public schools. There is already this system in other countries (including Egypt) where the public system is terrible and anyone who can afford it has to send their kids to private schools for them to get even a decent education. The result is a widening income gap which benefits the people trying to push this agenda.

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https://arbiteronline.com/2017/02/13/rumors-of-nea-and-neh-being-defunded-cause-discussion/

 

need to read the comments at the end on this one:

 

https://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/10-major-challenges-facing-public-schools

 

There is good reason so many Americans want to send their kids to private schools...

 

the public schools have serious problems - bullying, gov intrusion (common core) and the NCLB which

was badly flawed from the gitgo.... includes the government mandates that have changed ISP's in special education

to such a gigantic choire, teachers can't wait to retire asap. Teaching to tests, undermining family values by activist

superintendents/principals, teachers...

 

We're talking about underfunded schools, when the NEA gives nearly a million dollars there and there for ...ARTS? programs?

programs especially for minorities? etc etc etc etc?

 

That money should have gone to sciences and math...etc. The NEA should just be eliminated. Every state has it's own

gov educational agency. forget the fed.

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Call me cynical but I think they are cutting programs because they want private industry to take over the education system and marginalize public schools. There is already this system in other countries (including Egypt) where the public system is terrible and anyone who can afford it has to send their kids to private schools for them to get even a decent education. The result is a widening income gap which benefits the people trying to push this agenda.

Yes I would say that is cynical. This is been going on for decades every time the school puts a levy on the ballot, (which is just about every election cycle) they threatened to cut all sorts of programs if it gets turned down. Then you look to see what 90% of that tax money actually goes to when there is a levy and it's teacher and administrator salaries. If these people wanted a music program I probably know a dozen guys they could run it for a reasonable but out of money rather than Ohio Union teachers at twice the pay of the average citizen. Triple if you consider the amount of work they have to do.

WSS

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This is been going on for decades every time the school puts a levy on the ballot, (which is just about every election cycle) they threatened to cut all sorts of programs if it gets turned down.

I had an accounting professor that was on the local Board of Education for many years. He basically confirmed what you said Steve. He told us that if the school levy failed, the principles of the school always retaliated by making cuts to the sports programs, or the marching band. He said that one principle had 9 administrative assistants, and refused to cut any of them, he would prefer to get back at the parents for voting down the levy.

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