Ironically, under the newly enacted District of Columbia voucher law – a major priority of the Bush administration and its allies in Congress – teachers in private and religious schools receiving taxpayer-funded vouchers don’t even need to possess a college degree.If it's true, I can see the reason why.
Kids are forced to go to government schools in the current system, so it makes sense that those teaching there must meet high standards.
People choose private schools voluntarily, so in that case it should be left to the consumer to decide on the quality of the school. There is no (or at least less) need for government regulation there.
DUH - hello, anybody home !!
In the first place, public schools ought to be regulated, and they ought to provide a quality education to those who go there.
Once a parent decides to send a kid to a private school, it's their choice and they are responsible for the efficacy of that choice.
Hopefully, they choose wisely.
But, in a FREE country, we all should have the right to make bad decisions, and then be prepared to live with the consequences.
This is fine for private schools that don't get tax dollars, but why shouldn't teachers teaching in those schools that accept vouchers be held to the same standards as public school teachers?
These "highly qualified" standards aren't all that difficult to meet. Basically, (in VA at least), a teacher is highly qualified when she's certified to teach her subject. That's little more than a measure of basic subject knowledge competence. Seems to me quite reasonable to require these teachers to meet the same minimal competency standard if they're getting my tax dollars.