The ultimate goals of these often traumatic takeovers are, of course, to improve student achievement and achieve financial stability but, when it comes to the former, a growing body of research finds little evidence of success.
Gov. Ron DeSantis' new law would provide each student with an estimated $8,700 voucher. Experts wonder where the money to support this initiative will come from.
“Harmful” material, as defined in the bill, may “contain the exposure, in an obscene manner, of the unclothed or apparently unclothed human male or female genitals, pubic area, or buttocks or the female breast, or visual depictions of sexual acts or simulations of sexual acts, or explicit written descriptions of sexual acts.”
The bill from Republican Rep. Ken King bars public schools from organizing programs “dedicated to celebrating or providing special instruction regarding a sexual preference.”
Sen. John Cornyn told reporters that he does not believe the Senate can go any further on firearm-related bills or on expanding background checks than the chamber did last year when it passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act following the mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
The legislation would require schools to obtain parental consent to honor a student’s request to change gender-identifying pronouns. Democrats said it would bring the conflicts over social issues to the classroom.
The legislation would give families $8,000 in public funds to spend on private school or other educational costs. Only students currently enrolled in public school or just beginning their education would be eligible for the newly created “education savings accounts.”
Books deemed “sexually explicit” couldn’t be sold to districts under the bill. The proposal would also require schools to get parental permission before a child could access “sexually relevant material” in the library.
The newest iteration of the bill would ban discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in grades 4 through 12 unless explicitly required by existing state standards or as part of instruction related to reproductive health.
Voucher bills have historically gotten cool receptions in the House, but Republican House Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones, of Milton, a longtime proponent, has been in the forefront of this year’s push.
