Trip Down Memory Lane with Florida’s McKay Vouchers
One more awful bill in Florida is being used to push public schools towards privatization and poor schooling for students. Said to be 55 bills in one, HB 7069 use words like “starvation” to reference funding for public schools. Charters are called “Schools of Hope” even though Florida’s charter school record is dismal.
Many Floridians are begging the Governor to veto HB 7069.
How does Florida come up with all these privatization goals? Don’t politicians and business leaders look at the bad ideas they’ve had in the past? It looks like many are beginning to understand this is about money and not the students.
Consider the McKay Scholarship Program for Students with Disabilities (scholarship sounds more elegant than vouchers), and how it got a foothold in the State of Florida.
Students with disabilities are vulnerable when it comes to vouchers and privatization. Desperate for public schools that fund beneficial programs, parents grow weary. They can’t afford to waste time on classes that don’t accommodate their students, or overtaxed teachers.
Politicians know this. Instead of funding good public school programs (special ed. has never been funded appropriately), they want parents to go to private schools even though few of those schools provide adequate special education.
Florida’s McKay voucher program was launched in 1999. McKay is a good example of a failed program. Many students wind up in virtual or religious schools where special Trip Down Memory Lane with Florida’s McKay Vouchers: