CURMUDGUCATION: The Federal Regs Voucher Workaround

CURMUDGUCATION: The Federal Regs Voucher Workaround:

The Federal Regs Voucher Workaround

Betsy DeVos is having some trouble making up her mind on whether it's OK for private schools to discriminate. pic.twitter.com/JF97GkrASq

— AJ+ (@ajplus) June 9, 2017

After Betsy DeVos's last round of Congressional obfuscation testimony, many folks are asking the same question as EdWeek-- "When Do Voucher Programs Allow Private Schools To Discriminate Against Students?" As you can see in the clip above, DeVos answered variations on the question with repetitions of one answer:

Schools that receive federal funds must follow federal law, period.

I don't have a direct line to DeVos's brain,  so I can't discern for certain what she's thinking, but I do know a way to keep funneling tax dollars to voucher programs and let those voucher schools discriminate in any and all ways they wish to, all without violating the above quote.

In Pennsylvania, we call them Educational Improvement Tax Credits, and they work like this (Beware: oversimplification in the service of clarity dead ahead). My corporation has a tax bill of $1,000 in taxes that would ordinarily go to public education. But instead of sending the taxes to the state capital, I send $900 to Nifty Educational Privatey Organization. I get credit for paying $900 of my taxes, and CURMUDGUCATION: The Federal Regs Voucher Workaround: