Thursday, March 18, 2021

Bad News in Kentucky: Legislature Passes Voucher Bill | Diane Ravitch's blog

Bad News in Kentucky: Legislature Passes Voucher Bill | Diane Ravitch's blog
Bad News in Kentucky: Legislature Passes Voucher Bill



Kentucky Republican legislators passed a voucher bill, which now goes to Democratic Governor Andy Bashear. The Governor will likely veto the bill, but the legislature can override his veto with a simple majority. This is the ultimate vengeance against teachers, who organized in 2018 to fight the Republican plan to change teachers’ pensions.

The rightwing group EdChoice, formerly the Milton and Rose Friedman Foundation, was thrilled:

Public school supporters normally fight back in-person when pension reform and school choice are up for votes in Frankfort. But this year, Kentucky’s Capitol is closed to the public because of COVID-19, so the halls are empty. However, the bills dealing with those issues are still moving through.

“It’s a really big day,” said Andrew Vandiver with EdChoice Kentucky, a group that supports school choice.

After years of fighting for school choice, EdChoice Kentucky hoped to see it become law Tuesday.

“It’s just about fairness,” said Vandiver. “Trying to make CONTINUE READING: Bad News in Kentucky: Legislature Passes Voucher Bill | Diane Ravitch's blog