Betsy DeVos and her allies are trying to redefine ‘public education.' Critics call it ‘absurd.'
Florida’s new governor is right on board
In September 1875, President Ulysses S. Grant traveled to Des Moines, where he gave a speech that said in part:
"Encourage free schools and resolve that not one dollar of money appropriated to their support no matter how raised, shall be appropriated to the support of any sectarian school. Resolve that either the state or Nation, or both combined shall support institutions of learning sufficient to afford every child growing up in the land the opportunity of a good common school education, unmixed with sectarian, pagan or atheistical tenets. Leave the matter of religion to the family circle, the church and the private school supported entirely by private contributions. Keep the church and state forever separate.”
That was long the consensus of what “public education" means in the United States: common schools open to all and funded, operated and governed by the public through local governments.
Now, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and her allies are pushing their own definition of public education, as new Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) did this month, to the secretary’s delight. On Feb. 15, DeSantis gave a news conference about his plan for a school voucher-like program that would use public money for private and religious school tuition, an expansion of the “school choice” options already available in the state. He said:
“An important point to make is, you know, we talk about, ‘This is public school, this is charters.' Look, if it’s public dollars, it’s public education. . . . In Florida, public education is going to have a meaning that is directed by the parents, where the parents are the drivers because they know what’s best for their kids."
There it was: “Look, if it’s public dollars, it’s public education.” And DeVos was quick to tweet her support, saying, "Completely agree, @GovRonDesantis.”
Completely agree, @GovRonDesantis. "If the taxpayer is paying for education, it’s public education. We have parents who are lining up for a tax credit scholarship. They would not do that if the program was not succeeding." https://t.co/vCJU3rfxWi— Betsy DeVos (@BetsyDeVosED) February 15, 2019
To DeVos and those who agree with her, it is wrong to say public education means only traditional public school districts.
Rather, under her definition, it also means charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately run, sometimes by for-profit companies, and which usually operate with far fewer rules of transparency than traditional school systems. And it includes students who attend private and religious schools with publicly CONTINUE READING: Betsy DeVos and her allies are trying to redefine ‘public education.' Critics call it ‘absurd.' - The Washington Post
