Florida parents are taking advantage of an expanded school voucher program championed by Governor Ron DeSantis (R), according to messages from private Facebook groups obtained by Popular Information. The private Facebook messages reveal how parents are using the new
It’s been my experience that homeschoolers are hyper-conservative and clearly more likely to be Republican. Imagine how much they would be screaming if this was a kind of welfare voucher system being used this way. The hypocrisy is stunning.
And it was my experience, while living in Florida, home schoolers were often evangelicals as well. Well..Merry Christmas home schoolers via your friend & governor DeSantis. He's buying your vote with tax payer funded dollars. A chip off the old trump block...
And, of course, what he's mostly buying is just keeping the kids politically & morally passive. With home schooling -- & this particularly egregious version of it -- the outcome is political Quietism.
It is a welfare voucher - benefitting wealthy private school parents as well. Ultimately, it will add to privatization of everything, which will increase the wealth gap and drive the middle class further into the ground. More socialism for the rich, in other words. Take a look at the websites of these voucher organizations: board members are venture capitalists and other right-wing business folks. And they are registered as non-profits. More taxpayer money down the drain.
The Ky legislature wanted to have a donor program based on another FL program but with a lid on the cost. Florida’s funding for the donor tax credit funding grows automatically by 25% the year after 90% of the donor level is reached. I think it is well over $1B now.
The Ky state Supreme Court struck it down as a scheme to get around a provision in the Ky Constitution that only allows tax dollars to be used for public schools UNLESS it is approved by the voters. For some reason they avoid putting it on the ballot as a constitutional amendment.
Basically contributing gives “donors” a very high return. It is actually possible for companies to get the state tax benefit & an additional tax bennie from the feds for 100% return on their “donation”. (Ky has a state income tax so the proposal that died had allowed individuals to donate.)
It’s actually worse in FL than I remembered. It’s a “dollar for dollar” tax credit. The program for lower income had the income requirements removed. It went into affect in July. It was a $1.5B program. Estimate that it could go to $4B.
Isn’t the gop plan to dumb down as much as possible to eliminate critical thinking? That way, gop can destroy more government programs that cost money - getting those dollars into the hands of the super wealthy. So they strip public education away through this nonsense. This will bite us badly if we continue to permit it.
Dumb down the people so that they can be made to believe that Dems and libs are giving all their deserved handouts to brown people, not that the morbidly rich and other Republicans are stealing from them.
The tragedy here is more than the money - the tragedy is that thousands of children are not getting the education that they deserve and have a right to receive. They will be destined to poverty and difficulty their whole lives. It is incredibly cruel. Adults ruining their future. What else is new? Sigh.
It is indeed more than money - it is a tragedy of quality of life for many - like the burden of student debt for college students today. I remember when education was publicly funded and student debt was very limited. Now it is unaffordable for many - or worse a python around their necks with non-dischargeable debt. We need to keep telling these messages.
The governor of the Free State of Florida is a scammer, so I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that his constituents are scammers too. Big time scammers. Voucher paid passes to Disney World are essential for the education of children? New PlayStations along with inappropriate games are being paid for by the taxpayers of Florida? $500 Lego sets? If Florida public schools made these kind of expenditures, taxpayers would be up in arms. But because these outrageous expenses are made in the name of homeschooling aka- home scamming, it’s okay?
Wait till those of the "home schooled kids" who retain the ability, wake up to the fact that they themselves have been vicitmized by a scam perpetrated upon them, as well as the state by their parents. Oh to be a fly on that wall!
Victimized, poorly prepared for college or the workplace, and notably under-socialized. But they had the latest version of PlayStation and a annual Disney pass! What else could they need?
Why are we surprised they are sucking up this money like nomeschooling vacuums? DeSantis is creating a dystopian and facist leaning society in Florida.
Here most homeschooling parents are right wing Christians. Some are on the frontlines of the attack on public libraries. I saw on the Visual Capitalist yesterday that teaching is one of the bottom 10 professions that college and university students are majoring in.
An undereducated public school student is part of the far right plan. Many homeschooling curriculms come from far right and Christian universities and that's where those reimbursable lap tops and iPads access their course of study.
As for teachers, didn't the state of Florida pass that high school diploma military veterans could get a license to be a teacher? It is disgusting to see how they treat teachers, students and the goodwill of those who support public education and public money is being spent on 55 inch TV's, Game stations and Legos. No doubt once DeSantis hears of this story, those Disney passes will be removed from the list of reimbursements.
Good job, Judd and team exposing this legislated Florida money grab and to those who offered up the FB pages, Huzzah!
Well, Disney is a corporation. Better than some, as bad as most. I’m sure they’re laughing at Meatball Rob all the way to the bank. As long as their share holders are happy, they’re happy.
Dear FB Group, serious question, do you think I can expand my holiday cabin in Alaska? My 10yo is crazy about bigfoot, and it would be a great place to do the necessary research for most of the summer and a large portion of the school year. My baby also needs an AR-15 in case he sees a bigfoot or something/someone that reasonably looks like one so he can shoot it till it's dead. Shouldn't cost more than $3k and it' helps him learn about his constitutional freedoms
So, in about a dozen years or less, we will begin to see the fruits of this poisoned tree, as these miseducated and maligned "students" begin to make their mark on the world.
As someone said earlier, imagine a welfare voucher system being (mis) used in this way.
Truly a textbook case of rules for thee, not for me.
I think he has accelerated this to the point that students in HS who try to get into college will have to stay in FL. A new college entrance test that mostly homeschoolers use.
—It is rooted in the classical education model, which focuses on the “centrality of the Western tradition.”—
Thank you for the link. I'm surprised and pleased at the choices of literature they utilize:
[from Marcus Aurelius and St. Augustine. Practice tests feature passages from “The Epic of Gilgamesh,” Plato’s “Republic” and “The Federalist Papers,”]
Teachers would do well to include these choices in their curriculum to stimulate deeper thinking and discussion.
Yes, those are noted in quotes on the website for what the test covers. I’m not so sure it has anything to do with what is taught because mostly homeschooled students have taken it. Perhaps it spawns another business opportunity in test prep. FL has no curriculum requirements for homeschooling; no required subjects. Parents are on their own & a good portion seem to have chosen “how to be a consumer of free goods.” The Federalist Papers are a fave of conservatives - at least certain parts. So that didn’t surprise me. (Our legislature mandated a couple sections last year.) But I can’t see the moms ordering legos & new TVs having those discussions.
New College lost their Marine Biology program. The new regime brought in 6 athletic programs to push up enrollment. Overall lower test scores and grade points avg.
Promising laptops & the athletes get a whopping portion of the scholarships. Lots of promises but New College doesn’t have sports facilities & doesn’t belong to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Meanwhile, returning students were moved to uninhabitable housing because the athletes got the “upper classmen’s” housing. They had to be moved from the uninhabitable to off-campus housing in hotels (not within walking distance).
It looks a lot like this is deconstruction from the inside. Next will it be PragerU materials? Rufo is a far far right firebrand. The interim pres is a former speaker of the House & attorney with no education background who was Commission of Ed before New College.
Is this $8000 per student? If that is so, many of these families could easily be collecting 40-50k per year, and up. More than the avg pay for a Fl teacher with 25-30 students .
This is only the beginning.. Imagine what will happen to national education dollars if Trump has a severe medical condition and DeSantis becomes President? Even without that, other ultra-conservative states will be inclined to follow Florida’s example. If this is legally challenged and it goes to the Supreme Court, guess whose side they are on.
Actually the privileged children of the wealthy capitalists went to expensive private schools. The reactionary majority are often under-educated, have not learned critical thinking and are susceptible to the messaging of demagogues.
A little more research Marc. The Kochs went to private schools and they are one of the biggest supporters. Along with the DeVos (Amway), and many more.
Possibly a new slogan for the GOP could be “A new 55 inch TV and a PlayStation in every homeschoolers home” instead of the old fashioned slogan “A chicken in every pot.”
Undereducated? Darn - I thought they were motivated by their theology (law be damned). We better not tell feckless roberts or arrogant alito our thoughts.
This is just one program FL has to fund private schools with “donations”. Yes, other states are doing it although maybe it isn’t quite the same $$$ toss. The big program gives corporations tax credits for their “donations.” With no state income tax they don’t offer credits to individuals. There are quite a few states with their own versions of donor incentives for private schools.
Yes, Billion$. There are several “donor” programs for scholarships etc. in FL.
DEsantis signed a bill that went into effect in July. It could increase the cost of another program by Billions$. It is for low income students. Although it is publicly touted as totally funded by corporate donations, the “donors” get $1 to $1 tax credits.
The one for low income students is actually a “pass through” scheme - for companies (no state income tax). If donations come within 90% of the budget limit for a year the next year the limit goes up 25% !!
“If the company determines that it has insufficient tax liability to take the full credit (amount remitted is greater than 100 percent of net tax liability), it may carry forward each year using the FL DOR’s same online form that it used to apply for the credit.”
With the statistics on public teacher pay, the amount spent per-student, the updates on what can and cannot be taught in Florida schools (as previously reported) and their impacts (teachers leaving the state), and the amount of funding on the voucher program, one could make a case for the purposeful degradation of the public schooling in Florida to create a "crisis in education" that could lead to further funding of the voucher program, which would continue the redistribution of wealth, moving the money further "up the chain" away from those who could most benefit from it.
Sounds like a typical GOP policy — using a taxpayer-funded government program to undermine its intended purpose, while also being a huge grift! But don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll add a rule making sure none of this money goes to Disney.
Besides, the home “school”-ers will need this money, they need something to keep the rugrats occupied between lessons about how Jesus Christ hated the poor and black people loved slavery.
It’s been my experience that homeschoolers are hyper-conservative and clearly more likely to be Republican. Imagine how much they would be screaming if this was a kind of welfare voucher system being used this way. The hypocrisy is stunning.
They already complain about food stamps, Medicaid, cash assistance, etc. Conservatives do not have any intellectual consistency.
And it was my experience, while living in Florida, home schoolers were often evangelicals as well. Well..Merry Christmas home schoolers via your friend & governor DeSantis. He's buying your vote with tax payer funded dollars. A chip off the old trump block...
And, of course, what he's mostly buying is just keeping the kids politically & morally passive. With home schooling -- & this particularly egregious version of it -- the outcome is political Quietism.
It is a welfare voucher - benefitting wealthy private school parents as well. Ultimately, it will add to privatization of everything, which will increase the wealth gap and drive the middle class further into the ground. More socialism for the rich, in other words. Take a look at the websites of these voucher organizations: board members are venture capitalists and other right-wing business folks. And they are registered as non-profits. More taxpayer money down the drain.
The Ky legislature wanted to have a donor program based on another FL program but with a lid on the cost. Florida’s funding for the donor tax credit funding grows automatically by 25% the year after 90% of the donor level is reached. I think it is well over $1B now.
https://www.ecs.org/wp-content/uploads/An-Overview-of-Scholarship-Tax-Credits.pdf
The Ky state Supreme Court struck it down as a scheme to get around a provision in the Ky Constitution that only allows tax dollars to be used for public schools UNLESS it is approved by the voters. For some reason they avoid putting it on the ballot as a constitutional amendment.
Basically contributing gives “donors” a very high return. It is actually possible for companies to get the state tax benefit & an additional tax bennie from the feds for 100% return on their “donation”. (Ky has a state income tax so the proposal that died had allowed individuals to donate.)
https://www.stepupforstudents.org/donate/corporate-tax-credits/
Outrageous.
It’s actually worse in FL than I remembered. It’s a “dollar for dollar” tax credit. The program for lower income had the income requirements removed. It went into affect in July. It was a $1.5B program. Estimate that it could go to $4B.
https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/education/2023-03-28/desantis-signed-a-massive-school-voucher-expansion-into-law-heres-what-parents-need-to-know
Vouchers merely take money from public schools (taxpayer funded) and give it away. I will never agree with vouchers.
Isn’t the gop plan to dumb down as much as possible to eliminate critical thinking? That way, gop can destroy more government programs that cost money - getting those dollars into the hands of the super wealthy. So they strip public education away through this nonsense. This will bite us badly if we continue to permit it.
Dumb down the people so that they can be made to believe that Dems and libs are giving all their deserved handouts to brown people, not that the morbidly rich and other Republicans are stealing from them.
Exactly, Michael. Definitely the GOP plan.
The tragedy here is more than the money - the tragedy is that thousands of children are not getting the education that they deserve and have a right to receive. They will be destined to poverty and difficulty their whole lives. It is incredibly cruel. Adults ruining their future. What else is new? Sigh.
It is indeed more than money - it is a tragedy of quality of life for many - like the burden of student debt for college students today. I remember when education was publicly funded and student debt was very limited. Now it is unaffordable for many - or worse a python around their necks with non-dischargeable debt. We need to keep telling these messages.
How ironic that the governor has not one but two Ivy degrees, which I assume were abetted by much scholarship aid.
Exactly - “I got mine and …."
Yes. See also: the ongoing effort to make college so unaffordable that people skip it altogether.
Bingo
All part of a well-orchestrated conservative plan to destroy public education and promote for-profit charter schools.
With another part of the plot: break the back of teacher's unions. Go ahead and watch the brain drain out of education. Duh uh...
Definitely on the agenda of the right, as it has been for a long time. Teaching public school in Florida is practically missionary work.
Plus win some hearts and minds AND make some money!
Absolutely! Hearts and minds are important, but making a huge profit is glorious! Don’t forget, they want to control the curriculum too!
It'll be like a pump full of money!
Not much “mind” coming along.
All the better! More profits for we and none for thee.
The governor of the Free State of Florida is a scammer, so I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that his constituents are scammers too. Big time scammers. Voucher paid passes to Disney World are essential for the education of children? New PlayStations along with inappropriate games are being paid for by the taxpayers of Florida? $500 Lego sets? If Florida public schools made these kind of expenditures, taxpayers would be up in arms. But because these outrageous expenses are made in the name of homeschooling aka- home scamming, it’s okay?
Wait till those of the "home schooled kids" who retain the ability, wake up to the fact that they themselves have been vicitmized by a scam perpetrated upon them, as well as the state by their parents. Oh to be a fly on that wall!
Victimized, poorly prepared for college or the workplace, and notably under-socialized. But they had the latest version of PlayStation and a annual Disney pass! What else could they need?
Sounds like the MAGA crowd, right?
But they socialize at church of course 🙄
Learning how to scam … how to get FL to pay for their Christmas presents.
“We got these ….”
A pound of meth? Just askin.
Or their own lab. That would qualify as being a small business owner, correct?
Uh yuh, I reckon. Y'all done with that? Well, ok then.
Exactly, Adam! It is incredibly cruel thing to do to children.
Incredibly!
Mafia princess bride is the real threat
Why are we surprised they are sucking up this money like nomeschooling vacuums? DeSantis is creating a dystopian and facist leaning society in Florida.
Here most homeschooling parents are right wing Christians. Some are on the frontlines of the attack on public libraries. I saw on the Visual Capitalist yesterday that teaching is one of the bottom 10 professions that college and university students are majoring in.
An undereducated public school student is part of the far right plan. Many homeschooling curriculms come from far right and Christian universities and that's where those reimbursable lap tops and iPads access their course of study.
As for teachers, didn't the state of Florida pass that high school diploma military veterans could get a license to be a teacher? It is disgusting to see how they treat teachers, students and the goodwill of those who support public education and public money is being spent on 55 inch TV's, Game stations and Legos. No doubt once DeSantis hears of this story, those Disney passes will be removed from the list of reimbursements.
Good job, Judd and team exposing this legislated Florida money grab and to those who offered up the FB pages, Huzzah!
After you get past the concept and the loosey-goosey rules (any lego set? Modern education means buying recreation with tax dollars??) you have:
Problem 1: 3rd party doing the approvals. Sounds like a planned “plausible deniability”.
Problem 2: Pay according to participants. Every type of program that builds in incentives like that is opening the door to cheating.
The irony of DeSantis’ giveaway going, in part, to Disney shouldn’t be lost on anyone.
I also wonder how much these two private companies that are shelling out the funds and incentivized to ramp it up donated to DeSantis’ SuperPAC.
I laughed my crank off but what if Disney is somewhat co-opted/somewhat mollified by this economic windfall and decide to take the money and STFU?
Well, Disney is a corporation. Better than some, as bad as most. I’m sure they’re laughing at Meatball Rob all the way to the bank. As long as their share holders are happy, they’re happy.
A good point you have there Scott. Who could forget the corporation's people?
Dear FB Group, serious question, do you think I can expand my holiday cabin in Alaska? My 10yo is crazy about bigfoot, and it would be a great place to do the necessary research for most of the summer and a large portion of the school year. My baby also needs an AR-15 in case he sees a bigfoot or something/someone that reasonably looks like one so he can shoot it till it's dead. Shouldn't cost more than $3k and it' helps him learn about his constitutional freedoms
Approved!!! Even though it is public tax money, it is now yours and you can do with it as you wish!
So, in about a dozen years or less, we will begin to see the fruits of this poisoned tree, as these miseducated and maligned "students" begin to make their mark on the world.
As someone said earlier, imagine a welfare voucher system being (mis) used in this way.
Truly a textbook case of rules for thee, not for me.
We have already seen (for years) the results of our lack of support for education and enrichment--that only those of great privilege enjoy.
But these will be far far worse.
I think he has accelerated this to the point that students in HS who try to get into college will have to stay in FL. A new college entrance test that mostly homeschoolers use.
—It is rooted in the classical education model, which focuses on the “centrality of the Western tradition.”—
https://www.tampabay.com/news/education/2023/06/21/florida-advances-new-entrance-exam-public-universities/
Thank you for the link. I'm surprised and pleased at the choices of literature they utilize:
[from Marcus Aurelius and St. Augustine. Practice tests feature passages from “The Epic of Gilgamesh,” Plato’s “Republic” and “The Federalist Papers,”]
Teachers would do well to include these choices in their curriculum to stimulate deeper thinking and discussion.
Yes, those are noted in quotes on the website for what the test covers. I’m not so sure it has anything to do with what is taught because mostly homeschooled students have taken it. Perhaps it spawns another business opportunity in test prep. FL has no curriculum requirements for homeschooling; no required subjects. Parents are on their own & a good portion seem to have chosen “how to be a consumer of free goods.” The Federalist Papers are a fave of conservatives - at least certain parts. So that didn’t surprise me. (Our legislature mandated a couple sections last year.) But I can’t see the moms ordering legos & new TVs having those discussions.
New College lost their Marine Biology program. The new regime brought in 6 athletic programs to push up enrollment. Overall lower test scores and grade points avg.
Promising laptops & the athletes get a whopping portion of the scholarships. Lots of promises but New College doesn’t have sports facilities & doesn’t belong to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Meanwhile, returning students were moved to uninhabitable housing because the athletes got the “upper classmen’s” housing. They had to be moved from the uninhabitable to off-campus housing in hotels (not within walking distance).
It looks a lot like this is deconstruction from the inside. Next will it be PragerU materials? Rufo is a far far right firebrand. The interim pres is a former speaker of the House & attorney with no education background who was Commission of Ed before New College.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/03/new-college-florida-desantis-teachers
Is this $8000 per student? If that is so, many of these families could easily be collecting 40-50k per year, and up. More than the avg pay for a Fl teacher with 25-30 students .
As usual with your reporting, I hope this is picked up far and wide.
This is only the beginning.. Imagine what will happen to national education dollars if Trump has a severe medical condition and DeSantis becomes President? Even without that, other ultra-conservative states will be inclined to follow Florida’s example. If this is legally challenged and it goes to the Supreme Court, guess whose side they are on.
The reactionary majority went to expensive private schools- they won’t care about public schools for the masses.
Actually the privileged children of the wealthy capitalists went to expensive private schools. The reactionary majority are often under-educated, have not learned critical thinking and are susceptible to the messaging of demagogues.
A little more research Marc. The Kochs went to private schools and they are one of the biggest supporters. Along with the DeVos (Amway), and many more.
Possibly a new slogan for the GOP could be “A new 55 inch TV and a PlayStation in every homeschoolers home” instead of the old fashioned slogan “A chicken in every pot.”
nice....
Undereducated? Darn - I thought they were motivated by their theology (law be damned). We better not tell feckless roberts or arrogant alito our thoughts.
This is just one program FL has to fund private schools with “donations”. Yes, other states are doing it although maybe it isn’t quite the same $$$ toss. The big program gives corporations tax credits for their “donations.” With no state income tax they don’t offer credits to individuals. There are quite a few states with their own versions of donor incentives for private schools.
https://www.stepupforstudents.org/donate/corporate-tax-credits/
I continues to amaze me that Florida is choosing not to improve education , increase teachers salaries and has removed AP courses.
What a greedy gimmicky world De Santis runs.
So because he refuses to have real history classes, ( it might upset the kids ) he chooses to put on this charade of Disney World every day.
This ‘educational system’ ‘is a joke.
If I lived in Florida and still had young kids , id jump the ‘Ship of fools’ and find a state where education was still worthy of its name.
Billions of taxpayer moneys being funded for
Legos , orchestrated by Floridas Fool.
Yes, Billion$. There are several “donor” programs for scholarships etc. in FL.
DEsantis signed a bill that went into effect in July. It could increase the cost of another program by Billions$. It is for low income students. Although it is publicly touted as totally funded by corporate donations, the “donors” get $1 to $1 tax credits.
https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/education/2023-03-28/desantis-signed-a-massive-school-voucher-expansion-into-law-heres-what-parents-need-to-know
The one for low income students is actually a “pass through” scheme - for companies (no state income tax). If donations come within 90% of the budget limit for a year the next year the limit goes up 25% !!
“If the company determines that it has insufficient tax liability to take the full credit (amount remitted is greater than 100 percent of net tax liability), it may carry forward each year using the FL DOR’s same online form that it used to apply for the credit.”
https://www.aaascholarships.org/donors/florida/florida-tax-credit-scholarship-program-corporate/
With the statistics on public teacher pay, the amount spent per-student, the updates on what can and cannot be taught in Florida schools (as previously reported) and their impacts (teachers leaving the state), and the amount of funding on the voucher program, one could make a case for the purposeful degradation of the public schooling in Florida to create a "crisis in education" that could lead to further funding of the voucher program, which would continue the redistribution of wealth, moving the money further "up the chain" away from those who could most benefit from it.
Precisely the purpose of this dog and pony show. As always, follow the money.
Sounds like a typical GOP policy — using a taxpayer-funded government program to undermine its intended purpose, while also being a huge grift! But don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll add a rule making sure none of this money goes to Disney.
Besides, the home “school”-ers will need this money, they need something to keep the rugrats occupied between lessons about how Jesus Christ hated the poor and black people loved slavery.
When you get free Disney passes for you and the kids while Dad marches with Neo-Nazis outside the park. Florida Homeschool Fun Pack