The Governor’s proposal for an education savings account to fund private schools and homeschooling is challenged to find support among Brookings legislators according to an article appearing on the Brookings Register website yesterday, with members of the District 7 delegation expressing concern over the measure:
District 7 Rep. Roger DeGroot, R-Brookings, said if the program passes this year, its funding could easily balloon later.
and..
Heermann said if private schools and homeschooling parents are going to receive taxpayer dollars, they should be subject to government oversight.
“Where’s that money coming to, is it the appropriate use for it and do we have any oversight? If the money is being used, how is it being used?” Heermann said.
Concern was expressed over the costs of the program ballooning in later years, and coming at the expense of public schools.
In the article, the Brookings School Superintendent voiced concerns over the fairness issue, whether parents of children with special education needs will be served by the program, or denied because their kids might have different needs:
“I’m not opposed to choice. I honestly had 11 years in Dell Rapids and had a strong relationship with Dell Rapids St. Mary’s, so I’m not against school choice,” Schultz said. “But if you say, ‘parent choice’ it should also include students on disabilities and students with behavioral and mental health issues. That parent choice, I believe, should be for all parents — not just for parents whose children fit a mold.”
This is the concern I have what may end up being implemented – one of fairness to all kids and their families.
currently federal tax law allows parents to deduct the cost of special education for kids who need it.
Instead of funding private education for everybody, why doesn’t the state legislature kick this problem over to our Congressional delegation? Let them handle it through the IRS? Make private school tuition tax deductible.
(OF COURSE it’s a tax break fro the wealthy, all tax breaks are, because only the wealthy pay income taxes.)
This will have the effect of keeping angry, disruptive educators away from the state capitol building, and they won’t be calling up state legislators and verbally abusing them. They can bother Dusty, John and Mike, who all have office staff to answer the phone so that they don’t have to. The teachers can stage a million-teacher-march on Washington to show their displeasure.
we already have open enrollment and home schooling as well as private schools
the only choice parents don’t have is the one that involves not educating children at all
We already have that. We can open enroll into another school district, we can homeschool, and we can send our kids to private school. If we choose not to use the public library, we don’t expect Pierre to send us a check to buy our own books. We choose to use our own money. Similarly public school is available, if a parent chooses another choice they need to do so with out the use of public dollars.
To be fair, Scott and his cabal deserve at least triple every ounce of vitriol directed their way. They can reap what they sow.
It is good that home schooling is brought up since it is completely unregulated. We need to address that since it is open to abuse and neglect among other issues.
No we don’t and no it’s not.
This is the taxpayers money not the government’s.
Then I want my taxpayer dollars back as I have no children attending public or private schools.
Not how life works boomer.
Why lie?
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/05/law-school-professor-says-there-may-be-a-dark-side-of-homeschooling/
There are plenty of issues with home schooling and if taxpayer dollars are going to be clawed away for it, it absolutely needs oversight.
The central premise is wrong. It’s not the governments money. It’s the peoples money no strings need to be attached to my money.
But it’s not just YOUR money. It’s my money, too.
Once you buy and eat your gravy taters at Beau’s Campbell Street Diner, it’s not your money, it’s Beau’s.
Once you give your money to the government, it’s not your money either.
Give? Try confiscate.
You’re free to move to some backwater that doesn’t have an extradition treaty with the US and not pay your taxes or you could renounce your citizenship. You lolbertarians are dense.
Someone has no clue about social contracts, Federalism, or government in general. Must’ve been homeschooled.
Do the people who are needing financial help all pay property taxes??? I think not.
Can parents just assume that private schools will automatically accept a student with a voucher? I think not!
My question is does this bill go through state affairs or the education committee?
State affairs gives up the pretense it’s about education and gives more credence that this is primarily a subsidy to the Sioux Falls and Rapid City dioceses.
In the House, Lana Greenfield is chair. She didn’t have the guts to vote to impeach Rauvnsburg. She is also part of the Odenbach confederacy.
What next ?
Our family never drives on those roads so why should we have to pay for them?
Why should our family pay for a fire department since we will never need it?
Our education system is pathetic because it’s been under attack and the model failed the test.
Teachers are great people. Educators are typically good people.
But the schools and the money should be clawed back and reinvested in American families.
Our economy is a slave system propped up by a neutered political establishment that is far less powerful than the corporations that sell text books.
It’s all hidden using psychological tactics perfected in Europe around 1900.
Savings account program?
Just de-fund it and start writing checks to parents.
The nanny state is an abject failure.
Empty-headed musings courtesy of John Dale ladies, gentleman, and Scott Odenbach supports.
Mr. Dale, your idea about writing checks is an interesting one, fraught with many problems that would need to be worked out. If you have the chops to write out the details and present a paper/manifesto here for consideration, grudznick would sit down with you and that leprechaunish fellow, Mr. Odenbach, at the Mexican place in the old Steerfish to refine it.
Today, at the Conservatives with Common Sense breakfasting, we will rail upon the voucher program and laud the cuts to the arts.
*rips from bong*
Education money should be invested in families, maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan. Whatever that means, you absolute burnout.
There are zero upsides to vouchers for everyday South Dakotans! Our public school systems across the state will get torpedoed widening disparities for a small number of selfish families that only care about themselves rather than the common good.
If South Dakotans are feeling the pain of taxes now wait until this scheme takes effect and they keep getting more public tax dollars. This had a terrible track record in other states. Then we pay on the back end for students later in life that did not get the help they needed when they were in school due to being severely underfunded even more. Private schools can and will discriminate and are not held to the same standards as public school systems.
The group who needs the govt to regulate books for their children want to homeschool and have taxpayers fund it. The dumbing down of America by the right wing continues.
This is a classic case of political extremism by those pushing taxpayer public school vouchers for church schools. We are going to end up with Satanists in South Dakota opening up Temples and their Hellion Academies or whatever their schools are called benefiting from vouchers too. It’s happened in other states despite legal attempts to stop them.
Good point. We heathens and witches are going to want some of the voucher business.