Florida Republicans, led by Gov. Ron DeSantis, want to let tiny private schools open in libraries, movie theaters, churches and other spaces where they can fit makeshift classrooms.
Harris has backed Title I and Head Start funding increases, could reenergize school desegregation efforts and would bring civil rights experience to Title IX.
In its political platform adopted earlier this month, the Republican Party pledged to implement universal school choice, boost parental rights and promote "patriotic" standards for civics education.
Cut federal funding for schools "pushing critical race theory, radical gender ideology, and other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content on our children." That's among the top 20 promises in the Republican Party's 2024 platform.
Title IX, student loan forgiveness and federal oversight over institutions are in the crosshairs of two Republican-led initiatives with the power to overhaul public higher education.
Education experts across the political spectrum interpret the GOP platform's wording as favoring the type of approach adopted in states like West Virginia and Ohio, which make available taxpayer-funded vouchers, or scholarships, that can follow a child regardless of income to any public or private school.
Republican Gov. Bill Lee's universal voucher proposal stalled in the legislature this spring, even with a GOP supermajority. Now, in anticipation of a do-over, the governor is taking the unusual step of using his bully pulpit to endorse certain Republican candidates over others.
School choice advocates are intent on expanding the availability of vouchers to fund private education at the expense of public schools, but rural residents of these targeted states are putting up some of the strongest resistance.
